1
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Herndon ME, Ayers M, Gibson-Corley KN, Wendt MK, Wallrath LL, Henry MD, Stipp CS. The highly metastatic 4T1 breast carcinoma model possesses features of a hybrid epithelial/mesenchymal phenotype. Dis Model Mech 2024; 17:dmm050771. [PMID: 39104192 PMCID: PMC11391819 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.050771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2024] [Accepted: 07/29/2024] [Indexed: 08/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Epithelial-mesenchymal transitions (EMTs) are thought to promote metastasis via downregulation of E-cadherin (also known as Cdh1) and upregulation of mesenchymal markers such as N-cadherin (Cdh2) and vimentin (Vim). Contrary to this, E-cadherin is retained in many invasive carcinomas and promotes collective cell invasion. To investigate how E-cadherin regulates metastasis, we examined the highly metastatic, E-cadherin-positive murine 4T1 breast cancer model, together with the less metastatic, 4T1-related cell lines 4T07, 168FARN and 67NR. We found that 4T1 cells display a hybrid epithelial/mesenchymal phenotype with co-expression of epithelial and mesenchymal markers, whereas 4T07, 168FARN, and 67NR cells display progressively more mesenchymal phenotypes in vitro that relate inversely to their metastatic capacity in vivo. Using RNA interference and constitutive expression, we demonstrate that the expression level of E-cadherin does not determine 4T1 or 4T07 cell metastatic capacity in mice. Mechanistically, 4T1 cells possess highly dynamic, unstable cell-cell junctions and can undergo collective invasion without E-cadherin downregulation. However, 4T1 orthotopic tumors in vivo also contain subregions of EMT-like loss of E-cadherin. Thus, 4T1 cells function as a model for carcinomas with a hybrid epithelial/mesenchymal phenotype that promotes invasion and metastasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary E Herndon
- Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52245, USA
| | - Mitchell Ayers
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Katherine N Gibson-Corley
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Michael K Wendt
- Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Lori L Wallrath
- Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Michael D Henry
- Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Christopher S Stipp
- Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52245, USA
- Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
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2
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Saxena S, Dagar N, Shelke V, Puri B, Gaikwad AB. Wnt/beta-catenin modulation: A promising frontier in chronic kidney disease management. Fundam Clin Pharmacol 2024. [PMID: 39102849 DOI: 10.1111/fcp.13031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2024] [Revised: 07/03/2024] [Accepted: 07/22/2024] [Indexed: 08/07/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Being amongst the leading factors of death and distress, chronic kidney disease (CKD) has affected around 850 million people globally. The Wnt/β-catenin axis is vital for maintaining kidney homeostasis, from nephron generation to overall management. The β-catenin growth factor is typically not expressed in the adult kidney; however, its expression is found to increase under stress and injury conditions. It is categorised as canonical and non-canonical based on β-catenin availability, which mounts promising targets for ameliorating CKD. Hence, modulation of the Wnt/β-catenin signalling for CKD management is of utmost relevance. OBJECTIVES The primary aim of this review is to highlight the significance of targeting Wnt/β-catenin signalling for CKD management. METHODS The literature review regarding the role of Wnt/β-catenin signalling and therapies modulating it in CKD was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct and Google Scholar. RESULTS The current review summarises the pharmacological therapies modulating the Wnt/β-catenin axis in CKD, building upon promising preclinical studies to establish a foundation for clinical studies in the future. CONCLUSION Wnt/β-catenin signalling is the evolution's most conserved pathway, which plays a pivotal role in CKD progression. Therapies modulating Wnt/β-catenin signalling have emerged as effective means for alleviating CKD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shubhangi Saxena
- Department of Pharmacy, Birla Institute of Technology and Science-Pilani, Pilani Campus, Pilani, Rajasthan, India
| | - Neha Dagar
- Department of Pharmacy, Birla Institute of Technology and Science-Pilani, Pilani Campus, Pilani, Rajasthan, India
| | - Vishwadeep Shelke
- Department of Pharmacy, Birla Institute of Technology and Science-Pilani, Pilani Campus, Pilani, Rajasthan, India
| | - Bhupendra Puri
- Department of Pharmacy, Birla Institute of Technology and Science-Pilani, Pilani Campus, Pilani, Rajasthan, India
| | - Anil Bhanudas Gaikwad
- Department of Pharmacy, Birla Institute of Technology and Science-Pilani, Pilani Campus, Pilani, Rajasthan, India
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3
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Caballero-Avendaño A, Gutiérrez-Angulo M, Ayala-Madrigal MDLL, Moreno-Ortiz JM, González-Mercado A, Peregrina-Sandoval J. In Silico Analysis of the Missense Variants of Uncertain Significance of CTNNB1 Gene Reported in GnomAD Database. Genes (Basel) 2024; 15:972. [PMID: 39202333 PMCID: PMC11353749 DOI: 10.3390/genes15080972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2024] [Revised: 07/17/2024] [Accepted: 07/20/2024] [Indexed: 09/03/2024] Open
Abstract
CTNNB1 pathogenic variants are related to the improper functioning of the WNT/β-catenin pathway, promoting the development of different types of cancer of somatic origin. Bioinformatics analyses of genetic variation are a great tool to understand the possible consequences of these variants on protein structure and function and their probable implication in pathologies. The objective of this study is to describe the impact of the missense variants of uncertain significance (VUS) of the CTNNB1 gene on structure and function of the β-catenin protein. The CTNNB1 variants were obtained from the GnomAD v2.1.1 database; subsequently, a bioinformatic analysis was performed using the VarSome, UCSC Genome Browser, UniProt, the Kinase Library database, and DynaMut2 platforms to evaluate clinical significance, gene conservation, consensus sites for post-translational modifications, and the dynamics and stability of proteins. The GnomAD v2.1.1 database included 826 variants of the CTNNB1 gene, of which 385 were in exons and exon/intron boundaries. Among these variants, 214 were identified as missense, of which 146 were classified as VUS. Notably, 12 variants were in proximity to consensus sites for post-translational modifications (PTMs). The in silico analysis showed a slight tendency towards probably pathogenic for c.59C>T (p.Ala20Val) and c.983T>C (p.Met328Thr) missense VUS. These findings provide possible functional implications of these variants in some types of cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arturo Caballero-Avendaño
- Doctorado en Genética Humana e Instituto de Genética Humana, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Guadalajara 44340, Mexico; (A.C.-A.); (M.G.-A.); (M.d.l.L.A.-M.); (J.M.M.-O.); (A.G.-M.)
| | - Melva Gutiérrez-Angulo
- Doctorado en Genética Humana e Instituto de Genética Humana, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Guadalajara 44340, Mexico; (A.C.-A.); (M.G.-A.); (M.d.l.L.A.-M.); (J.M.M.-O.); (A.G.-M.)
- Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, Centro Universitario de los Altos, Tepatitlán de Morelos 47600, Mexico
| | - María de la Luz Ayala-Madrigal
- Doctorado en Genética Humana e Instituto de Genética Humana, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Guadalajara 44340, Mexico; (A.C.-A.); (M.G.-A.); (M.d.l.L.A.-M.); (J.M.M.-O.); (A.G.-M.)
| | - José Miguel Moreno-Ortiz
- Doctorado en Genética Humana e Instituto de Genética Humana, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Guadalajara 44340, Mexico; (A.C.-A.); (M.G.-A.); (M.d.l.L.A.-M.); (J.M.M.-O.); (A.G.-M.)
| | - Anahí González-Mercado
- Doctorado en Genética Humana e Instituto de Genética Humana, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Guadalajara 44340, Mexico; (A.C.-A.); (M.G.-A.); (M.d.l.L.A.-M.); (J.M.M.-O.); (A.G.-M.)
| | - Jorge Peregrina-Sandoval
- Instituto de Fisiología Celular del Departamento de Biología Celular y Molecular, Centro Universitario de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Zapopan 45200, Mexico
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4
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Noble MA, Ji Y, Yim KM, Yang JW, Morales M, Abu-Shamma R, Pal A, Poulsen R, Baumgartner M, Noonan JP. Human Accelerated Regions regulate gene networks implicated in apical-to-basal neural progenitor fate transitions. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.30.601407. [PMID: 39005466 PMCID: PMC11244942 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.30.601407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/16/2024]
Abstract
The evolution of the human cerebral cortex involved modifications in the composition and proliferative potential of the neural stem cell (NSC) niche during brain development. Human Accelerated Regions (HARs) exhibit a significant excess of human-specific sequence changes and have been implicated in human brain evolution. Multiple studies support that HARs include neurodevelopmental enhancers with novel activities in humans, but their biological functions in NSCs have not been empirically assessed at scale. Here we conducted a direct-capture Perturb-seq screen repressing 180 neurodevelopmentally active HARs in human iPSC-derived NSCs with single-cell transcriptional readout. After profiling >188,000 NSCs, we identified a set of HAR perturbations with convergent transcriptional effects on gene networks involved in NSC apicobasal polarity, a cellular process whose precise regulation is critical to the developmental emergence of basal radial glia (bRG), a progenitor population that is expanded in humans. Across multiple HAR perturbations, we found convergent dysregulation of specific apicobasal polarity and adherens junction regulators, including PARD3, ABI2, SETD2 , and PCM1 . We found that the repression of one candidate from the screen, HAR181, as well as its target gene CADM1 , disrupted apical PARD3 localization and NSC rosette formation. Our findings reveal interconnected roles for HARs in NSC biology and cortical development and link specific HARs to processes implicated in human cortical expansion.
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5
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Zhang Z, Westover D, Tang Z, Liu Y, Sun J, Sun Y, Zhang R, Wang X, Zhou S, Hesilaiti N, Xia Q, Du Z. Wnt/β-catenin signaling in the development and therapeutic resistance of non-small cell lung cancer. J Transl Med 2024; 22:565. [PMID: 38872189 PMCID: PMC11170811 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-024-05380-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2024] [Accepted: 06/06/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Wnt/β-catenin signaling is a critical pathway that influences development and therapeutic response of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In recent years, many Wnt regulators, including proteins, miRNAs, lncRNAs, and circRNAs, have been found to promote or inhibit signaling by acting on Wnt proteins, receptors, signal transducers and transcriptional effectors. The identification of these regulators and their underlying molecular mechanisms provides important implications for how to target this pathway therapeutically. In this review, we summarize recent studies of Wnt regulators in the development and therapeutic response of NSCLC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zixu Zhang
- Department of Genetic and Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210003, China
| | - David Westover
- High-Throughput Analytics, Analytical Research and Development, Merck & Co. Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA
| | - Zhantong Tang
- Department of Genetic and Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210003, China
| | - Yue Liu
- Department of Genetic and Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210003, China
| | - Jinghan Sun
- School of Life Science and Technology, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210018, China
| | - Yunxi Sun
- Department of Genetic and Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210003, China
| | - Runqing Zhang
- Department of Genetic and Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210003, China
| | - Xingyue Wang
- Department of Genetic and Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210003, China
| | - Shihui Zhou
- Department of Genetic and Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210003, China
| | - Nigaerayi Hesilaiti
- Department of Genetic and Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210003, China
| | - Qi Xia
- Department of Genetic and Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210003, China
| | - Zhenfang Du
- Department of Genetic and Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210003, China.
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6
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Gowans FA, Forte N, Hatcher J, Huang OW, Wang Y, Altamirano Poblano BE, Wertz IE, Nomura DK. Covalent Degrader of the Oncogenic Transcription Factor β-Catenin. J Am Chem Soc 2024. [PMID: 38848252 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c05174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2024]
Abstract
β-catenin (CTNNB1) is an oncogenic transcription factor that is important in cell-cell adhesion and transcription of cell proliferation and survival genes that drive the pathogenesis of many different types of cancers. However, direct pharmacological targeting of CTNNB1 has remained challenging. Here, we have performed a screen with a library of cysteine-reactive covalent ligands to identify the monovalent degrader EN83 that depletes CTNNB1 in a ubiquitin-proteasome-dependent manner. We show that EN83 directly and covalently targets CTNNB1 three cysteines C466, C520, and C619, leading to destabilization and degradation of CTNNB1. Through structural optimization, we generate a highly potent and relatively selective destabilizing degrader that acts through the targeting of only C619 on CTNNB1. Our results show that chemoproteomic approaches can be used to covalently target and degrade challenging transcription factors like CTNNB1 through destabilization-mediated degradation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flor A Gowans
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Innovative Genomics Institute, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Nafsika Forte
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Innovative Genomics Institute, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Justin Hatcher
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Innovative Genomics Institute, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Oscar W Huang
- Bristol Myers Squibb, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
| | - Yangzhi Wang
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Innovative Genomics Institute, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Belen E Altamirano Poblano
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Innovative Genomics Institute, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Ingrid E Wertz
- Bristol Myers Squibb, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
| | - Daniel K Nomura
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Innovative Genomics Institute, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
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7
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Brown PA. Genes Differentially Expressed Across Major Arteries Are Enriched in Endothelial Dysfunction-Related Gene Sets: Implications for Relative Inter-artery Atherosclerosis Risk. Bioinform Biol Insights 2024; 18:11779322241251563. [PMID: 38765020 PMCID: PMC11100403 DOI: 10.1177/11779322241251563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Atherosclerosis differs across major arteries. Although the biological basis is not fully understood, limited evidence of genetic differences has been documented. This study, therefore, was aimed to identify differentially expressed genes between clinically relevant major arteries and investigate their enrichment in endothelial dysfunction-related gene sets. A bioinformatic analysis of publicly available gene-level read counts for coronary, aortic, and tibial arteries was performed. Differential gene expression was conducted with DeSeq2 at a false discovery rate of 0.05. Differentially expressed genes were then subjected to over-representation analysis and active-subnetwork-oriented enrichment analysis, both at a false discovery rate of 0.005. Enriched terms common to both analyses were categorized for each contrast into immunity/inflammation-, membrane biology-, lipid metabolism-, and coagulation-related terms, and the top differentially expressed genes validated against Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics' Bgee database. There was mostly upregulation of differentially expressed genes for the coronary/tibial and aorta/tibial contrasts, but milder changes for the coronary/aorta contrast. Transcriptomic differences between coronary or aortic versus tibial samples largely involved immunity/inflammation-, membrane biology-, lipid metabolism-, and coagulation-related genes, suggesting potential to modulate endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis. These results imply atheroprone coronary and aortic environments compared with tibial artery tissue, which may explain observed relative inter-artery atherosclerosis risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul A Brown
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences Teaching and Research Complex, The University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica
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8
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Hung M, Lo HF, Beckmann AG, Demircioglu D, Damle G, Hasson D, Radice GL, Krauss RS. Cadherin-dependent adhesion is required for muscle stem cell niche anchorage and maintenance. Development 2024; 151:dev202387. [PMID: 38456551 PMCID: PMC11057819 DOI: 10.1242/dev.202387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 02/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
Adhesion between stem cells and their niche provides stable anchorage and signaling cues to sustain properties such as quiescence. Skeletal muscle stem cells (MuSCs) adhere to an adjacent myofiber via cadherin-catenin complexes. Previous studies on N- and M-cadherin in MuSCs revealed that although N-cadherin is required for quiescence, they are collectively dispensable for MuSC niche localization and regenerative activity. Although additional cadherins are expressed at low levels, these findings raise the possibility that cadherins are unnecessary for MuSC anchorage to the niche. To address this question, we conditionally removed from MuSCs β- and γ-catenin, and, separately, αE- and αT-catenin, factors that are essential for cadherin-dependent adhesion. Catenin-deficient MuSCs break quiescence similarly to N-/M-cadherin-deficient MuSCs, but exit the niche and are depleted. Combined in vivo, ex vivo and single cell RNA-sequencing approaches reveal that MuSC attrition occurs via precocious differentiation, re-entry to the niche and fusion to myofibers. These findings indicate that cadherin-catenin-dependent adhesion is required for anchorage of MuSCs to their niche and for preservation of the stem cell compartment. Furthermore, separable cadherin-regulated functions govern niche localization, quiescence and MuSC maintenance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret Hung
- Department of Cell, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Black Family Stem Cell Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Hsiao-Fan Lo
- Department of Cell, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Black Family Stem Cell Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Aviva G. Beckmann
- Pathos AI, 600 West Chicago Avenue, Suite 510, Chicago, IL 60654, USA
| | - Deniz Demircioglu
- Bioinformatics for Next Generation Sequencing Core, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- The Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Gargi Damle
- Bioinformatics for Next Generation Sequencing Core, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- The Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Dan Hasson
- Black Family Stem Cell Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Bioinformatics for Next Generation Sequencing Core, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- The Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Glenn L. Radice
- Cardiovascular Research Center, Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA
| | - Robert S. Krauss
- Department of Cell, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Black Family Stem Cell Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Bioinformatics for Next Generation Sequencing Core, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- The Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
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9
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Ohkawara B, Kurokawa M, Kanai A, Imamura K, Chen G, Zhang R, Masuda A, Higashi K, Mori H, Suzuki Y, Kurokawa K, Ohno K. Transcriptome profile of subsynaptic myonuclei at the neuromuscular junction in embryogenesis. J Neurochem 2024; 168:342-354. [PMID: 37994470 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.16013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Revised: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
Skeletal muscle fiber is a large syncytium with multiple and evenly distributed nuclei. Adult subsynaptic myonuclei beneath the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) express specific genes, the products of which coordinately function in the maintenance of the pre- and post-synaptic regions. However, the gene expression profiles that promote the NMJ formation during embryogenesis remain largely unexplored. We performed single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) analysis of embryonic and neonatal mouse diaphragms, and found that each myonucleus had a distinct transcriptome pattern during the NMJ formation. Among the previously reported NMJ-constituting genes, Dok7, Chrna1, and Chrnd are specifically expressed in subsynaptic myonuclei at E18.5. In the E18.5 diaphragm, ca. 10.7% of the myonuclei express genes for the NMJ formation (Dok7, Chrna1, and Chrnd) together with four representative β-catenin regulators (Amotl2, Ptprk, Fam53b, and Tcf7l2). Additionally, the temporal gene expression patterns of these seven genes are synchronized in differentiating C2C12 myoblasts. Amotl2 and Ptprk are expressed in the sarcoplasm, where β-catenin serves as a structural protein to organize the membrane-anchored NMJ structure. In contrast, Fam53b and Tcf7l2 are expressed in the myonucleus, where β-catenin serves as a transcriptional coactivator in Wnt/β-catenin signaling at the NMJ. In C2C12 myotubes, knockdown of Amotl2 or Ptprk markedly, and that of Fam53b and Tcf7l2 less efficiently, impair the clustering of acetylcholine receptors. In contrast, knockdown of Fam53b and Tcf7l2, but not of Amotl2 or Ptprk, impairs the gene expression of Slit2 encoding an axonal attractant for motor neurons, which is required for the maturation of motor nerve terminal. Thus, Amotl2 and Ptprk exert different roles at the NM compared to Fam53b and Tcf7l2. Additionally, Wnt ligands originating from the spinal motor neurons and the perichondrium/chondrocyte are likely to work remotely on the subsynaptic nuclei and the myotendinous junctional nuclei, respectively. We conclude that snRNA-seq analysis of embryonic/neonatal diaphragms reveal a novel coordinated expression profile especially in the Wnt/β-catenin signaling that regulate the formation of the embryonic NMJ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bisei Ohkawara
- Division of Neurogenetics, Center for Neurological Diseases and Cancer, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Masaomi Kurokawa
- Department of Informatics, National Institute of Genetics, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Akinori Kanai
- Department of Computational Biology and Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Chiba, Japan
| | - Kiyomi Imamura
- Department of Computational Biology and Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Chiba, Japan
| | - Guiying Chen
- Division of Neurogenetics, Center for Neurological Diseases and Cancer, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Ruchen Zhang
- Division of Neurogenetics, Center for Neurological Diseases and Cancer, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Akio Masuda
- Division of Neurogenetics, Center for Neurological Diseases and Cancer, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Koichi Higashi
- Department of Informatics, National Institute of Genetics, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Mori
- Department of Informatics, National Institute of Genetics, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Yutaka Suzuki
- Department of Computational Biology and Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Chiba, Japan
| | - Ken Kurokawa
- Department of Informatics, National Institute of Genetics, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Kinji Ohno
- Division of Neurogenetics, Center for Neurological Diseases and Cancer, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan
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10
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Czowski BJ, White KA. Intracellular pH regulates β-catenin with low pHi increasing adhesion and signaling functions. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.22.586349. [PMID: 38585883 PMCID: PMC10996556 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.22.586349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
Intracellular pH (pHi) dynamics are linked to cell processes including proliferation, migration, and differentiation. The adherens junction (AJ) and signaling protein β-catenin has decreased abundance at high pHi due to increased proteasomal-mediated degradation. However, the effects of low pHi on β-catenin abundance and functions have not been characterized. Here, we show that low pHi stabilizes β-catenin in epithelial cells using population-level and single-cell assays. β-catenin abundance is increased at low pHi and decreased at high pHi. We also assay single-cell protein degradation rates to show that β-catenin half-life is longer at low compared to high pHi. Importantly, we show that AJs are not disrupted by β-catenin loss at high pHi due to rescue by plakoglobin. Finally, we show that low pHi increases β-catenin transcriptional activity in single cells and is indistinguishable from a Wnt-on state. This work characterizes pHi as a rheostat regulating β-catenin abundance, stability, and function and implicates β-catenin as a molecular mediator of pHi-dependent cell processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon J Czowski
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame
- Harper Cancer Research Institute, University of Notre Dame
| | - Katharine A White
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame
- Harper Cancer Research Institute, University of Notre Dame
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11
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Cencer CS, Robinson KL, Tyska MJ. Loss of intermicrovillar adhesion impairs basolateral junctional complexes in transporting epithelia. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.19.585733. [PMID: 38562895 PMCID: PMC10983982 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.19.585733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Transporting epithelial cells in the gut and kidney rely on protocadherin-based apical adhesion complexes to organize microvilli that extend into the luminal space. In these systems, CDHR2 and CDHR5 localize to the distal ends of microvilli, where they form an intermicrovillar adhesion complex (IMAC) that links the tips of these structures, promotes the formation of a well-ordered array of protrusions, and in turn maximizes apical membrane surface area. Recently, we discovered that IMACs can also form between microvilli that extend from neighboring cells, across cell-cell junctions. As an additional point of physical contact between cells, transjunctional IMACs are well positioned to impact the integrity of canonical tight and adherens junctions that form more basolaterally. Here, we sought to test this idea using cell culture and mouse models that lacked CDHR2 expression and were unable to form IMACs. CDHR2 knockout perturbed cell and junction morphology, led to loss of key components from tight and adherens junctions, and impaired barrier function and wound healing. These results indicate that, in addition to organizing apical microvilli, IMACs provide a layer of cell-cell contact that functions in parallel with canonical tight and adherens junctions to support the physiological functions of transporting epithelia.
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Lu X, Chen H, Zhang T. Solid pseudopapillary neoplasm (SPN) of the pancreas: current understanding on its malignant potential and management. Discov Oncol 2024; 15:77. [PMID: 38498246 PMCID: PMC10948659 DOI: 10.1007/s12672-024-00905-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Solid pseudopapillary neoplasms (SPN) of the pancreas are presently recognized as low-grade malignant tumors that are frequently observed in young females. This tumor has a low incidence and is associated with an excellent prognosis following surgical resection. Typical SPNs primarily affect the pancreas and tend to have moderate or asymptomatic manifestations. Based on retrospective research, it is anticipated that patients with SPN can achieve disease-free survival, even in cases when metastasis is detected during inspection. However, the incidence of malignant SPN has been consistently underestimated, as evidenced by recent research findings. Malignancy of SPN primarily encompasses invasion and infiltration, metastasis, and recurrence after R0 resection. Imaging technologies such as Ultrasound, Computed Tomography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, and Position Emission Tomography are capable of preliminarily identifying malignant SPN, which is primarily based on its invasive clinical features. Research on risk factors of malignant SPN revealed that larger tumor size, Ki-67 index, and several other parameters had significant correlations with invasive tumor behavior. Pathologic features of malignant SPNs overlay other pancreatic tumors, nevertheless they can provide valuable assistance in the process of diagnosis. Several confirmed specific pathologic biomarkers are related to its cellular origin, characteristic gene mutation, and cell proliferation. Considering the invasiveness of malignant SPN, it is imperative to enhance the comprehensiveness of its therapy. Tumor resection remains a suggested course of action in line with typical SPN, and additional lymph node dissection is seen as reasonable. Compared to benign SPNs, malignant SPNs have worse prognosis, underscoring the necessity of early identification and treatment in comprehensive medical centers to get improved clinical outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyue Lu
- Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Hao Chen
- Department of General Surgery, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Taiping Zhang
- Department of General Surgery, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China.
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13
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Hoch CC, Knoedler L, Knoedler S, Bashiri Dezfouli A, Schmidl B, Trill A, Douglas JE, Adappa ND, Stögbauer F, Wollenberg B. Integrated Molecular and Histological Insights for Targeted Therapies in Mesenchymal Sinonasal Tract Tumors. Curr Oncol Rep 2024; 26:272-291. [PMID: 38376625 PMCID: PMC10920452 DOI: 10.1007/s11912-024-01506-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of mesenchymal sinonasal tract tumors (STTs), a distinct subset of STTs. Despite their rarity, mesenchymal STTs represent a unique clinical challenge, characterized by their rarity, often slow progression, and frequently subtle or overlooked symptoms. The complex anatomy of the sinonasal area, which includes critical structures such as the orbit, brain, and cranial nerves, further complicates surgical treatment options. This underscores an urgent need for more advanced and specialized therapeutic approaches. RECENT FINDINGS Advancements in molecular diagnostics, particularly in next-generation sequencing, have significantly enhanced our understanding of STTs. Consequently, the World Health Organization has updated its tumor classification to better reflect the distinct histological and molecular profiles of these tumors, as well as to categorize mesenchymal STTs with greater accuracy. The growing understanding of the molecular characteristics of mesenchymal STTs opens new possibilities for targeted therapeutic interventions, marking a significant shift in treatment paradigms. This review article concentrates on mesenchymal STTs, specifically addressing sinonasal tract angiofibroma, sinonasal glomangiopericytoma, biphenotypic sinonasal sarcoma, and skull base chordoma. These entities are marked by unique histopathological and molecular features, which challenge conventional treatment approaches and simultaneously open avenues for novel targeted therapies. Our discussion is geared towards delineating the molecular underpinnings of mesenchymal STTs, with the objective of enhancing therapeutic strategies and addressing the existing shortcomings in the management of these intricate tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cosima C Hoch
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Ismaningerstrasse 22, 81675, Munich, Germany
| | - Leonard Knoedler
- Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic Surgery, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Samuel Knoedler
- Institute of Regenerative Biology and Medicine, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Ali Bashiri Dezfouli
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Ismaningerstrasse 22, 81675, Munich, Germany
- Central Institute for Translational Cancer Research, Technical University of Munich (TranslaTUM), Department of Radiation Oncology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Munich, Germany
| | - Benedikt Schmidl
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Ismaningerstrasse 22, 81675, Munich, Germany
| | - Anskar Trill
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Ismaningerstrasse 22, 81675, Munich, Germany
- Central Institute for Translational Cancer Research, Technical University of Munich (TranslaTUM), Department of Radiation Oncology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Munich, Germany
| | - Jennifer E Douglas
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Nithin D Adappa
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Fabian Stögbauer
- Institute of Pathology, School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Munich, Germany
| | - Barbara Wollenberg
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Ismaningerstrasse 22, 81675, Munich, Germany.
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Tsare EPG, Klapa MI, Moschonas NK. Protein-protein interaction network-based integration of GWAS and functional data for blood pressure regulation analysis. Hum Genomics 2024; 18:15. [PMID: 38326862 DOI: 10.1186/s40246-023-00565-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND It is valuable to analyze the genome-wide association studies (GWAS) data for a complex disease phenotype in the context of the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, as the related pathophysiology results from the function of interacting polyprotein pathways. The analysis may include the design and curation of a phenotype-specific GWAS meta-database incorporating genotypic and eQTL data linking to PPI and other biological datasets, and the development of systematic workflows for PPI network-based data integration toward protein and pathway prioritization. Here, we pursued this analysis for blood pressure (BP) regulation. METHODS The relational scheme of the implemented in Microsoft SQL Server BP-GWAS meta-database enabled the combined storage of: GWAS data and attributes mined from GWAS Catalog and the literature, Ensembl-defined SNP-transcript associations, and GTEx eQTL data. The BP-protein interactome was reconstructed from the PICKLE PPI meta-database, extending the GWAS-deduced network with the shortest paths connecting all GWAS-proteins into one component. The shortest-path intermediates were considered as BP-related. For protein prioritization, we combined a new integrated GWAS-based scoring scheme with two network-based criteria: one considering the protein role in the reconstructed by shortest-path (RbSP) interactome and one novel promoting the common neighbors of GWAS-prioritized proteins. Prioritized proteins were ranked by the number of satisfied criteria. RESULTS The meta-database includes 6687 variants linked with 1167 BP-associated protein-coding genes. The GWAS-deduced PPI network includes 1065 proteins, with 672 forming a connected component. The RbSP interactome contains 1443 additional, network-deduced proteins and indicated that essentially all BP-GWAS proteins are at most second neighbors. The prioritized BP-protein set was derived from the union of the most BP-significant by any of the GWAS-based or the network-based criteria. It included 335 proteins, with ~ 2/3 deduced from the BP PPI network extension and 126 prioritized by at least two criteria. ESR1 was the only protein satisfying all three criteria, followed in the top-10 by INSR, PTN11, CDK6, CSK, NOS3, SH2B3, ATP2B1, FES and FINC, satisfying two. Pathway analysis of the RbSP interactome revealed numerous bioprocesses, which are indeed functionally supported as BP-associated, extending our understanding about BP regulation. CONCLUSIONS The implemented workflow could be used for other multifactorial diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evridiki-Pandora G Tsare
- Department of General Biology, School of Medicine, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
- Metabolic Engineering and Systems Biology Laboratory, Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH/ICE-HT), Patras, Greece
| | - Maria I Klapa
- Metabolic Engineering and Systems Biology Laboratory, Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH/ICE-HT), Patras, Greece.
| | - Nicholas K Moschonas
- Department of General Biology, School of Medicine, University of Patras, Patras, Greece.
- Metabolic Engineering and Systems Biology Laboratory, Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH/ICE-HT), Patras, Greece.
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15
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Lei S, Hu M, Wei Z. Identification of systemic biomarkers and potential drug targets for age-related macular degeneration. Front Aging Neurosci 2024; 16:1322519. [PMID: 38361503 PMCID: PMC10867226 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2024.1322519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Purpose Since age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is tightly associated with aging and cellular senescence, objective of this study was to investigate the association between plasma levels of senescence-related proteins (SRPs) and risk of AMD. Design The whole study was based on two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. Methods For MR analysis, the primary approach for MR analysis was the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method and the heterogeneity and pleiotropy of results were tested. The instrumental single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with 110 SRPs were filtered and selected from a large genome-wide association study (GWAS) for plasma proteome involving 35,559 participants. The GWAS data of AMD was obtained from FinnGen consortium (6,157 AMD cases and 288,237 controls) and further validated by using data from UK Biobank consortium (3,553 AMD cases and 147,089 controls). Results The MR results at both discovery and validation stages supported the causality (IVW-P < 0.00045) between plasma levels of 4 SRPs (C3b, CTNNB1, CCL1, and CCL3L1) and the risk of AMD and supported potential causality (IVW-P < 0.05) between other 10 SRPs and risk of AMD. No heterogeneity or pleiotropy in these results was detected. Conclusion Our findings supported that high plasma levels of C3b, CTNNB1, CCL1, and CCL3L1 were associated with increased risk of AMD, thereby highlighting the role of systemic inflammation in AMD pathogenesis and providing the rationale for developing new preventative and therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shizhen Lei
- Department of Ophthalmology, Wuhan No. 1 Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Mang Hu
- Department of Ophthalmology, Wuhan No. 1 Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
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Azzahra F, Amalia R, Karsono AH, Tjandrawinata RR, Ismaya WT, Rachmawati H. The mannose-binding protein from Agaricus bisporus inhibits the growth of MDA-MB-231 spheroids. Chem Biol Drug Des 2024; 103:e14365. [PMID: 37749066 DOI: 10.1111/cbdd.14365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Revised: 09/02/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 09/27/2023]
Abstract
A mannose-binding protein from the mushroom Agaricus bisporus (Abmb) inhibits the growth of MDA-MB-231 cells, which is of an aggressive breast cancer subtype. This ability was observed in a monolayer cell (2D) culture setup, which often is unable to capture changes in cell morphology, polarity and division. That shortcoming may overestimate Abmb potency for its development as a pharmaceutical agent and its use in a therapy. Hence, Abmb's inhibition to the cell growth was performed in the 3D cell (spheroid) culture, which is more representative to the situation in vivo. The result showed that, although the presence of Abmb at ~14.7 μM already disrupted the MDA-MB-231 cell morphology in the 2D culture, its presence at ~16.5 μM only ceased the growth of the MDA-MB-231 spheroid. Further, Abmb is unique because structurally it belongs to the R-type lectin (RTL) family; most of mannose-binding protein is of the C-type lectin (CTL). As the natural ligand of Abmb is unknown thus the mechanism of action is unclear, Abmb effect on the cancer cells was assessed via observation of the altered expression of genes involved in the Wnt/β-catenin signalling, which is one of the canonical pathways in the proliferation of cancer cells. The results suggested that Abmb did not alter the pathway upon exerting its anti-proliferative activity to the MDA-MB-231 cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fauzia Azzahra
- Research Group of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Bandung Institute of Technology, Bandung, Indonesia
| | - Riezki Amalia
- Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, Padjadjaran University, Jatinangor, Indonesia
| | - Agung Heru Karsono
- Dexa Laboratories of Biomolecular Sciences, Dexa Medica, Cikarang, Indonesia
| | - Raymond Rubianto Tjandrawinata
- Dexa Laboratories of Biomolecular Sciences, Dexa Medica, Cikarang, Indonesia
- Faculty of Biotechnology, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Tangerang, Indonesia
| | - Wangsa Tirta Ismaya
- Dexa Laboratories of Biomolecular Sciences, Dexa Medica, Cikarang, Indonesia
| | - Heni Rachmawati
- Research Group of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Bandung Institute of Technology, Bandung, Indonesia
- Research Center for Nanosciences and Nanotechnology, Bandung Institute of Technology, Bandung, Indonesia
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Mazziotta C, Iaquinta MR, Tramarin ML, Badiale G, Cervellera CF, Tonnini G, Patergnani S, Pinton P, Lanza G, Gafà R, Tognon M, Martini F, De Mattei M, Rotondo JC. Hsa-microRNA-1249-3p/Homeobox A13 axis modulates the expression of β-catenin gene in human epithelial cells. Sci Rep 2023; 13:22872. [PMID: 38129477 PMCID: PMC10739948 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49837-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Intercellular adhesion is a key function for epithelial cells. The fundamental mechanisms relying on epithelial cell adhesion have been partially uncovered. Hsa-microRNA-1249-3p (hsa-miR-1249-3p) plays a role in the epithelial mesenchymal transition in carcinoma cells, but its physiological function in epithelial cells is unknown. We aimed to investigate the role and molecular mechanisms of hsa-miR-1249-3p on epithelial cell functions. Hsa-miR-1249-3p was overexpressed in human epithelial cells and uterine cervical tissues, compared to cervical carcinoma cells and precancerous tissues, respectively. Hsa-miR-1249-3p was analyzed to verify its regulatory function on Homeobox A13 (HOXA13) target gene and its downstream cell adhesion gene β-catenin. Functional experiments indicated that hsa-miR-1249-3p inhibition prompted the mRNA and protein overexpression of HOXA13 which, in turn, led to the β-catenin protein expression. Moreover, hsa-miR-1249-3p inhibition induced a strong colony forming ability in epithelial cells, suggesting the miR involvement in cell adhesion machinery. These data indicate that hsa-miR-1249-3p regulates the expression of HOXA13 and its downstream cell adhesion gene β-catenin, possible resulting in cell adhesion modification in epithelial cells. This study will allow the set-up of further investigations aimed at exploring the relationship between the hsa-miR-1249-3p/HOXA13 axis and downstream cell adhesion genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Mazziotta
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, 64/b, Fossato di Mortara Street, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
- Center for Studies on Gender Medicine, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Maria Rosa Iaquinta
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, 64/b, Fossato di Mortara Street, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
- Center for Studies on Gender Medicine, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Maria Letizia Tramarin
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, 64/b, Fossato di Mortara Street, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Giada Badiale
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, 64/b, Fossato di Mortara Street, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Christian Felice Cervellera
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, 64/b, Fossato di Mortara Street, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Giulia Tonnini
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, 64/b, Fossato di Mortara Street, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Simone Patergnani
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, 64/b, Fossato di Mortara Street, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
- Laboratory for Technologies of Advanced Therapies (LTTA), University of Ferrara, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Paolo Pinton
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, 64/b, Fossato di Mortara Street, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
- Laboratory for Technologies of Advanced Therapies (LTTA), University of Ferrara, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Giovanni Lanza
- Department of Translational Medicine, University of Ferrara, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Roberta Gafà
- Department of Translational Medicine, University of Ferrara, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Mauro Tognon
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, 64/b, Fossato di Mortara Street, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Fernanda Martini
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, 64/b, Fossato di Mortara Street, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
- Center for Studies on Gender Medicine, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
- Laboratory for Technologies of Advanced Therapies (LTTA), University of Ferrara, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Monica De Mattei
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, 64/b, Fossato di Mortara Street, 44121, Ferrara, Italy.
| | - John Charles Rotondo
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, 64/b, Fossato di Mortara Street, 44121, Ferrara, Italy.
- Center for Studies on Gender Medicine, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121, Ferrara, Italy.
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Wang X, Kim M, Jung KH, Chai YG, Binas B. Defined Conditions Control the Morphological Dualism of Rat Primitive Extraembryonic Endoderm Stem Cells. Stem Cells Dev 2023; 32:731-746. [PMID: 37823730 DOI: 10.1089/scd.2023.0187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Rat primitive extraembryonic endoderm (pXEN) stem cell lines indefinitely preserve the characteristic features of the early extraembryonic endoderm (ExEn) in vitro, but require unknown serum factors and exhibit a hybrid (mesenchymal-epithelial) phenotype. We report two chemically defined conditions that differ by the addition of the cytokine leukemia inhibitory factor (Lif) and the β-catenin-stabilizing drug Chir99021, and enable permanent self-renewal as mesenchymal and epithelial morphotypes, respectively. The morphotypes are interconvertible and equipotent, as shown by the formation of well-differentiated organoids. Surprisingly, the proliferation of both morphotypes requires Lif-type Gp130/Stat3 signaling (autocrine in the absence of added Lif) and noncanonical Wnt signaling (autocrine). In addition, the epithelial version requires β-catenin for proliferation and morphology. Interestingly, the mesenchymal cells also express key epithelial markers, but those are improperly structured and/or not functional, indicating a primed state. These results provide an improved platform for studying the proliferation and plasticity of the early ExEn, which occurs in mesenchymal and epithelial forms in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoqiong Wang
- Department of Molecular and Life Science, Hanyang University, Ansan, Republic of Korea
| | - Minjae Kim
- Department of Molecular and Life Science, Hanyang University, Ansan, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyoung Hwa Jung
- Gwangmyeong Convergence Technology Campus of Korea Polytechnic II, Incheon, Republic of Korea
| | - Young Gyu Chai
- Department of Molecular and Life Science, Hanyang University, Ansan, Republic of Korea
| | - Bert Binas
- Department of Molecular and Life Science, Hanyang University, Ansan, Republic of Korea
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Dev A, Vachher M, Prasad CP. β-catenin inhibitors in cancer therapeutics: intricacies and way forward. Bioengineered 2023; 14:2251696. [PMID: 37655825 PMCID: PMC10478749 DOI: 10.1080/21655979.2023.2251696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Revised: 08/19/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023] Open
Abstract
β-catenin is an evolutionary conserved, quintessential, multifaceted protein that plays vital roles in cellular homeostasis, embryonic development, organogenesis, stem cell maintenance, cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, apoptosis, and pathogenesis of various human diseases including cancer. β-catenin manifests both signaling and adhesive features. It acts as a pivotal player in intracellular signaling as a component of versatile WNT signaling cascade involved in embryonic development, homeostasis as well as in carcinogenesis. It is also involved in Ca2+ dependent cell adhesion via interaction with E-cadherin at the adherens junctions. Aberrant β-catenin expression and its nuclear accumulation promote the transcription of various oncogenes including c-Myc and cyclinD1, thereby contributing to tumor initiation, development, and progression. β-catenin's expression is closely regulated at various levels including its stability, sub-cellular localization, as well as transcriptional activity. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of regulation of β-catenin and its atypical expression will provide researchers not only the novel insights into the pathogenesis and progression of cancer but also will help in deciphering new therapeutic avenues. In the present review, we have summarized the dual functions of β-catenin, its role in signaling, associated mutations as well as its role in carcinogenesis and tumor progression of various cancers. Additionally, we have discussed the challenges associated with targeting β-catenin molecule with the presently available drugs and suggested the possible way forward in designing new therapeutic alternatives against this oncogene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arundhathi Dev
- Department of Medical Oncology (Laboratory), DR BRAIRCH, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
| | - Meenakshi Vachher
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Home Economics, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India
| | - Chandra Prakash Prasad
- Department of Medical Oncology (Laboratory), DR BRAIRCH, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
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20
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Bocquet B, Borday C, Erkilic N, Mamaeva D, Donval A, Masson C, Parain K, Kaminska K, Quinodoz M, Perea-Romero I, Garcia-Garcia G, Jimenez-Medina C, Boukhaddaoui H, Coget A, Leboucq N, Calzetti G, Gandolfi S, Percesepe A, Barili V, Uliana V, Delsante M, Bozzetti F, Scholl HP, Corton M, Ayuso C, Millan JM, Rivolta C, Meunier I, Perron M, Kalatzis V. TBC1D32 variants disrupt retinal ciliogenesis and cause retinitis pigmentosa. JCI Insight 2023; 8:e169426. [PMID: 37768732 PMCID: PMC10721274 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.169426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is the most common inherited retinal disease (IRD) and is characterized by photoreceptor degeneration and progressive vision loss. We report 4 patients presenting with RP from 3 unrelated families with variants in TBC1D32, which to date has never been associated with an IRD. To validate TBC1D32 as a putative RP causative gene, we combined Xenopus in vivo approaches and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived (iPSC-derived) retinal models. Our data showed that TBC1D32 was expressed during retinal development and that it played an important role in retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) differentiation. Furthermore, we identified a role for TBC1D32 in ciliogenesis of the RPE. We demonstrated elongated ciliary defects that resulted in disrupted apical tight junctions, loss of functionality (delayed retinoid cycling and altered secretion balance), and the onset of an epithelial-mesenchymal transition-like phenotype. Last, our results suggested photoreceptor differentiation defects, including connecting cilium anomalies, that resulted in impaired trafficking to the outer segment in cones and rods in TBC1D32 iPSC-derived retinal organoids. Overall, our data highlight a critical role for TBC1D32 in the retina and demonstrate that TBC1D32 mutations lead to RP. We thus identify TBC1D32 as an IRD-causative gene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Béatrice Bocquet
- Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier (INM), University of Montpellier, Inserm, Montpellier, France
- National Reference Centre for Inherited Sensory Diseases, University of Montpellier, CHU, Montpellier, France
| | - Caroline Borday
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay, Saclay, France
| | - Nejla Erkilic
- Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier (INM), University of Montpellier, Inserm, Montpellier, France
- National Reference Centre for Inherited Sensory Diseases, University of Montpellier, CHU, Montpellier, France
| | - Daria Mamaeva
- Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier (INM), University of Montpellier, Inserm, Montpellier, France
| | - Alicia Donval
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay, Saclay, France
| | - Christel Masson
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay, Saclay, France
| | - Karine Parain
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay, Saclay, France
| | - Karolina Kaminska
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB), Basel, Switzerland
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Mathieu Quinodoz
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB), Basel, Switzerland
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - Irene Perea-Romero
- Department of Genetics, Health Research Institute-Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (IIS-FJD, UAM), Madrid, Spain
- Center for Biomedical Network Research on Rare Diseases (CIBERER), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Gema Garcia-Garcia
- Center for Biomedical Network Research on Rare Diseases (CIBERER), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Molecular, Cellular and Genomics Biomedicine Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe (IIS La Fe), Valencia, Spain
- Joint Unit of Rare Diseases, IIS La Fe-Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe, Valencia, Spain
| | - Carla Jimenez-Medina
- Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier (INM), University of Montpellier, Inserm, Montpellier, France
| | - Hassan Boukhaddaoui
- Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier (INM), University of Montpellier, Inserm, Montpellier, France
| | - Arthur Coget
- Department of Neuroradiology and
- Institute for Human Functional Imaging (I2FH), University of Montpellier, CHU, Montpellier, France
| | | | - Giacomo Calzetti
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB), Basel, Switzerland
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Department of Medicine and Surgery
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Francesca Bozzetti
- Neuroradiology Unit, Diagnostic Department, University Hospital of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Hendrik P.N. Scholl
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB), Basel, Switzerland
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Marta Corton
- Department of Genetics, Health Research Institute-Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (IIS-FJD, UAM), Madrid, Spain
- Center for Biomedical Network Research on Rare Diseases (CIBERER), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Carmen Ayuso
- Department of Genetics, Health Research Institute-Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (IIS-FJD, UAM), Madrid, Spain
- Center for Biomedical Network Research on Rare Diseases (CIBERER), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jose M. Millan
- Center for Biomedical Network Research on Rare Diseases (CIBERER), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Molecular, Cellular and Genomics Biomedicine Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe (IIS La Fe), Valencia, Spain
- Joint Unit of Rare Diseases, IIS La Fe-Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe, Valencia, Spain
| | - Carlo Rivolta
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB), Basel, Switzerland
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - Isabelle Meunier
- Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier (INM), University of Montpellier, Inserm, Montpellier, France
- National Reference Centre for Inherited Sensory Diseases, University of Montpellier, CHU, Montpellier, France
| | - Muriel Perron
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay, Saclay, France
| | - Vasiliki Kalatzis
- Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier (INM), University of Montpellier, Inserm, Montpellier, France
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21
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Wang Y, Popovic Z, Charkoftaki G, Garcia-Milian R, Lam TT, Thompson DC, Chen Y, Vasiliou V. Multi-omics profiling reveals cellular pathways and functions regulated by ALDH1B1 in colon cancer cells. Chem Biol Interact 2023; 384:110714. [PMID: 37716420 PMCID: PMC10807983 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2023.110714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 09/18/2023]
Abstract
Colon cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death globally. Although early screenings and advances in treatments have reduced mortality since 1970, identification of novel targets for therapeutic intervention is needed to address tumor heterogeneity and recurrence. Previous work identified aldehyde dehydrogenase 1B1 (ALDH1B1) as a critical factor in colon tumorigenesis. To investigate further, we utilized a human colon adenocarcinoma cell line (SW480) in which the ALDH1B1 protein expression has been knocked down by 80% via shRNA. Through multi-omics (transcriptomics, proteomics, and untargeted metabolomics) analysis, we identified the impact of ALDH1B1 knocking down (KD) on molecular signatures in colon cancer cells. Suppression of ALDH1B1 expression resulted in 357 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), 191 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) and 891 differentially altered metabolites (DAMs). Functional annotation and enrichment analyses revealed that: (1) DEGs were enriched in integrin-linked kinase (ILK) signaling and growth and development pathways; (2) DEPs were mainly involved in apoptosis signaling and cellular stress response pathways; and (3) DAMs were associated with biosynthesis, intercellular and second messenger signaling. Collectively, the present study provides new molecular information associated with the cellular functions of ALDH1B1, which helps to direct future investigation of colon cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yewei Wang
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Zeljka Popovic
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Georgia Charkoftaki
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Rolando Garcia-Milian
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA; Bioinformatics Support Program, Cushing/Whitney Medical Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - TuKiet T Lam
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Keck MS & Proteomics Resource, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - David C Thompson
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Ying Chen
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Vasilis Vasiliou
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA.
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22
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Zhang S, Guo Y, Zhang S, Wang Z, Zhang Y, Zuo S. Targeting the deubiquitinase USP2 for malignant tumor therapy (Review). Oncol Rep 2023; 50:176. [PMID: 37594087 PMCID: PMC10463009 DOI: 10.3892/or.2023.8613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The ubiquitin‑proteasome system is a major degradation pathway for >80% of proteins in vivo. Deubiquitylases, which remove ubiquitinated tags to stabilize substrate proteins, are important components involved in regulating the degradation of ubiquitinated proteins. In addition, they serve multiple roles in tumor development by participating in physiological processes such as protein metabolism, cell cycle regulation, DNA damage repair and gene transcription. The present review systematically summarized the role of ubiquitin‑specific protease 2 (USP2) in malignant tumors and the specific molecular mechanisms underlying the involvement of USP2 in tumor‑associated pathways. USP2 reverses ubiquitin‑mediated degradation of proteins and is involved in aberrant proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis and drug resistance of tumors. Additionally, the present review summarized studies reporting on the use of USP2 as a therapeutic target for malignancies such as breast, liver, ovarian, colorectal, bladder and prostate cancers and glioblastoma and highlights the current status of pharmacological research on USP2. The clinical significance of USP2 as a therapeutic target for malignant tumors warrants further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shilong Zhang
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550004, P.R. China
| | - Yi Guo
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550004, P.R. China
| | - Shenjie Zhang
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550004, P.R. China
| | - Zhi Wang
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550004, P.R. China
| | - Yewei Zhang
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550004, P.R. China
| | - Shi Zuo
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550004, P.R. China
- Precision Medicine Research Institute of Guizhou, The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550004, P.R. China
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23
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Li Y, Porta-Pardo E, Tokheim C, Bailey MH, Yaron TM, Stathias V, Geffen Y, Imbach KJ, Cao S, Anand S, Akiyama Y, Liu W, Wyczalkowski MA, Song Y, Storrs EP, Wendl MC, Zhang W, Sibai M, Ruiz-Serra V, Liang WW, Terekhanova NV, Rodrigues FM, Clauser KR, Heiman DI, Zhang Q, Aguet F, Calinawan AP, Dhanasekaran SM, Birger C, Satpathy S, Zhou DC, Wang LB, Baral J, Johnson JL, Huntsman EM, Pugliese P, Colaprico A, Iavarone A, Chheda MG, Ricketts CJ, Fenyö D, Payne SH, Rodriguez H, Robles AI, Gillette MA, Kumar-Sinha C, Lazar AJ, Cantley LC, Getz G, Ding L. Pan-cancer proteogenomics connects oncogenic drivers to functional states. Cell 2023; 186:3921-3944.e25. [PMID: 37582357 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Revised: 12/30/2022] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2023]
Abstract
Cancer driver events refer to key genetic aberrations that drive oncogenesis; however, their exact molecular mechanisms remain insufficiently understood. Here, our multi-omics pan-cancer analysis uncovers insights into the impacts of cancer drivers by identifying their significant cis-effects and distal trans-effects quantified at the RNA, protein, and phosphoprotein levels. Salient observations include the association of point mutations and copy-number alterations with the rewiring of protein interaction networks, and notably, most cancer genes converge toward similar molecular states denoted by sequence-based kinase activity profiles. A correlation between predicted neoantigen burden and measured T cell infiltration suggests potential vulnerabilities for immunotherapies. Patterns of cancer hallmarks vary by polygenic protein abundance ranging from uniform to heterogeneous. Overall, our work demonstrates the value of comprehensive proteogenomics in understanding the functional states of oncogenic drivers and their links to cancer development, surpassing the limitations of studying individual cancer types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yize Li
- Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA
| | - Eduard Porta-Pardo
- Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC), Badalona 08916, Spain; Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Barcelona 08034, Spain
| | - Collin Tokheim
- Department of Data Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Matthew H Bailey
- Department of Biology and Simmons Center for Cancer Research, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
| | - Tomer M Yaron
- Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA; Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA; Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | - Vasileios Stathias
- Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA; Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Yifat Geffen
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Cancer Center and Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Kathleen J Imbach
- Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC), Badalona 08916, Spain; Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Barcelona 08034, Spain
| | - Song Cao
- Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA
| | - Shankara Anand
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Yo Akiyama
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Wenke Liu
- Institute for Systems Genetics, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Matthew A Wyczalkowski
- Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA
| | - Yizhe Song
- Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA
| | - Erik P Storrs
- Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA
| | - Michael C Wendl
- McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA; Department of Genetics, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; Department of Mathematics, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Wubing Zhang
- Department of Data Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Mustafa Sibai
- Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC), Badalona 08916, Spain; Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Barcelona 08034, Spain
| | - Victoria Ruiz-Serra
- Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC), Badalona 08916, Spain; Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Barcelona 08034, Spain
| | - Wen-Wei Liang
- Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA
| | - Nadezhda V Terekhanova
- Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA
| | - Fernanda Martins Rodrigues
- Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA
| | - Karl R Clauser
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - David I Heiman
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Qing Zhang
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Francois Aguet
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Anna P Calinawan
- Department of Genetic and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Saravana M Dhanasekaran
- Michigan Center for Translational Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Chet Birger
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Shankha Satpathy
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Daniel Cui Zhou
- Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA
| | - Liang-Bo Wang
- Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA
| | - Jessika Baral
- Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA
| | - Jared L Johnson
- Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA; Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | - Emily M Huntsman
- Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA; Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | - Pietro Pugliese
- Department of Science and Technology, University of Sannio, 82100 Benevento, Italy
| | - Antonio Colaprico
- Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA; Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Antonio Iavarone
- Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA; Department of Neurological Surgery, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Milan G Chheda
- Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Christopher J Ricketts
- Urologic Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - David Fenyö
- Institute for Systems Genetics, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Samuel H Payne
- Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
| | - Henry Rodriguez
- Office of Cancer Clinical Proteomics Research, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD 20850, USA
| | - Ana I Robles
- Office of Cancer Clinical Proteomics Research, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD 20850, USA
| | - Michael A Gillette
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Chandan Kumar-Sinha
- Michigan Center for Translational Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Alexander J Lazar
- Departments of Pathology & Genomic Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Lewis C Cantley
- Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA; Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA.
| | - Gad Getz
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Cancer Center and Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
| | - Li Ding
- Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA; Department of Genetics, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
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24
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Der B, Bugacov H, Briantseva BM, McMahon AP. Cadherin Adhesion Complexes Direct Cell Aggregation in the Epithelial Transition of Wnt-Induced Nephron Progenitor Cells. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.08.27.555021. [PMID: 38654822 PMCID: PMC11037868 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.27.555021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
In the developing mammalian kidney, nephron formation is initiated by a subset of nephron progenitor cells (NPCs). Wnt input activates a β-catenin ( Ctnnb1 )-driven, transcriptional nephrogenic program. In conjunction, induced mesenchymal NPCs transition through a pre-tubular aggregate to an epithelial renal vesicle, the precursor for each nephron. How this critical mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET) is regulated is unclear. In an in vitro mouse NPC culture model, activation of the Wnt pathway results in the aggregation of induced NPCs into closely-packed, cell clusters. Genetic removal of β-catenin resulted in a failure of both Wnt pathway-directed transcriptional activation and the formation of aggregated cell clusters. Modulating extracellular Ca 2+ levels showed cell-cell contacts were Ca 2+ -dependent, suggesting a role for cadherin (Cdh)-directed cell adhesion. Molecular analysis identified Cdh2 , Cdh4 and Cdh11 in uninduced NPCs and the up-regulation of Cdh3 and Cdh4 accompanying the Wnt pathway-induced MET. Genetic removal of all four cadherins, and independent removal of α-catenin, which couples Cdh-β-catenin membrane complexes to the actin cytoskeleton, abolished cell aggregation in response to Wnt pathway activation. However, the β-catenin driven inductive transcriptional program was unaltered. Together with the accompanying paper (Bugacov et al ., submitted), these data demonstrate that distinct cellular activities of β-catenin - transcriptional regulation and cell adhesion - combine in the mammalian kidney programs generating differentiated epithelial nephron precursors from mesenchymal nephron progenitors. Summary statement Our study highlights the role of Wnt-β-catenin pathway regulation of cadherin-mediated cell adhesion in the mesenchymal to epithelial transition of induced nephron progenitor cells.
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25
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Hurník P, Putnová BM, Ševčíková T, Hrubá E, Putnová I, Škarda J, Havel M, Res O, Cvek J, Buchtová M, Štembírek J. Metastasising ameloblastoma or ameloblastic carcinoma? A case report with mutation analyses. BMC Oral Health 2023; 23:563. [PMID: 37573343 PMCID: PMC10423427 DOI: 10.1186/s12903-023-03259-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/14/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ameloblastic carcinoma and metastasising ameloblastoma are rare epithelial odontogenic tumours with aggressive features. Distinguishing between these two lesions is often clinically difficult but necessary to predict tumour behaviour or to plan future therapy. Here, we provide a brief review of the literature available on these two types of lesions and present a new case report of a young man with an ameloblastoma displaying metastatic features. We also use this case to illustrate the similarities and differences between these two types of tumours and the difficulties of their differential diagnosis. CASE PRESENTATION Our histopathological analyses uncovered a metastasising tumour with features of ameloblastic carcinoma, which developed from the ameloblastoma. We profiled the gene expression of Wnt pathway members in ameloblastoma sample of this patient, because multiple molecules of this pathway are involved in the establishing of cell polarity, cell migration or for epithelial-mesenchymal transition during tumour metastasis to evaluate features of tumor behaviour. Indeed, we found upregulation of several cell migration-related genes in our patient. Moreover, we uncovered somatic mutation BRAF p.V600E with known pathological role in cancerogenesis and germline heterozygous FANCA p.S858R mutation, whose interpretation in this context has not been discussed yet. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, we have uncovered a unique case of ameloblastic carcinoma associated with an alteration of Wnt signalling and the presence of BRAF mutation. Development of harmful state of our patient might be also supported by the germline mutation in one FANCA allele, however this has to be confirmed by further analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pavel Hurník
- Laboratory of Molecular Morphogenesis, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Institute of Clinical and Molecular Pathology and Medical Genetics, Faculty Hospital and Medical Faculty Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Barbora Moldovan Putnová
- Laboratory of Molecular Morphogenesis, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Pathological Morphology and Parasitology, University of Veterinary Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Tereza Ševčíková
- Department of Hematooncology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
- Department of Hematooncology, University Hospital Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
| | - Eva Hrubá
- Laboratory of Molecular Morphogenesis, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Iveta Putnová
- Laboratory of Molecular Morphogenesis, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, University of Veterinary Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Josef Škarda
- Institute of Clinical and Molecular Pathology and Medical Genetics, Faculty Hospital and Medical Faculty Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
- Department of Clinical and Molecular Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University and University Hospital in Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Havel
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
| | - Oldřich Res
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
| | - Jakub Cvek
- Department of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
| | - Marcela Buchtová
- Laboratory of Molecular Morphogenesis, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Jan Štembírek
- Laboratory of Molecular Morphogenesis, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic.
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic.
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26
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Gomes G, Oliveira JL, Costa ML, Mermelstein C, Feitosa NM. Manganese Exposure Induces Cellular Aggregates and the Accumulation of β-Catenin in Skin of Zebrafish Embryos. Zebrafish 2023; 20:160-168. [PMID: 37406179 DOI: 10.1089/zeb.2022.0056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The effects of manganese (Mn) toxicity in different organs and tissues in humans and other vertebrates have been studied since the beginning of the past century, but most of its cellular effects remain largely unknown. In this study, we studied the effects of Mn in zebrafish, at the cellular level, due to the transparent nature of zebrafish larvae that enables a powerful analysis under the light microscope. The collection of our results shows that environmental concentrations of 0.5 mg/L affect swim bladder inflation; at concentration of 50 and 100 mg/L Mn (1) induces alterations in viability, swim bladder, heart, and size of zebrafish larvae, (2) induces an increase in melanocyte area and the formation of cellular aggregates in the skin, and (3) induces an accumulation of β-Catenin in mesenchymal cells in the caudal fin of zebrafish larvae. Our data suggest that increased levels of Mn induce cell aggregate formation in the skin and the presence of more melanocytes in the zebrafish caudal fin. Interestingly, the adhesion protein β-Catenin was activated in mesenchymal cells near the cell aggregates. These results open important new questions on the role of Mn toxicity on cellular organization and β-Catenin responses in fishes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geyse Gomes
- Laboratório de Diferenciação Muscular, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal do Rio de janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - José Leonardo Oliveira
- Laboratório Integrado de Biociências Translacionais (LIBT), Instituto de Biodiversidade e Sustentabilidade (NUPEM), Universidade Federal do Rio de janeiro, Macaé, Brazil
| | - Manoel Luis Costa
- Laboratório de Diferenciação Muscular, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal do Rio de janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Claudia Mermelstein
- Laboratório de Diferenciação Muscular, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal do Rio de janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Natália Martins Feitosa
- Laboratório Integrado de Biociências Translacionais (LIBT), Instituto de Biodiversidade e Sustentabilidade (NUPEM), Universidade Federal do Rio de janeiro, Macaé, Brazil
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Ayad NM, Lakins JN, Ghagre A, Ehrlicher AJ, Weaver VM. Tissue tension permits β-catenin phosphorylation to drive mesoderm specification in human embryonic stem cells. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.14.549074. [PMID: 37503095 PMCID: PMC10370032 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.14.549074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
The role of morphogenetic forces in cell fate specification is an area of intense interest. Our prior studies suggested that the development of high cell-cell tension in human embryonic stem cells (hESC) colonies permits the Src-mediated phosphorylation of junctional β-catenin that accelerates its release to potentiate Wnt-dependent signaling critical for initiating mesoderm specification. Using an ectopically expressed nonphosphorylatable mutant of β-catenin (Y654F), we now provide direct evidence that impeding tension-dependent Src-mediated β-catenin phosphorylation impedes the expression of Brachyury (T) and the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) necessary for mesoderm specification. Addition of exogenous Wnt3a or inhibiting GSK3β activity rescued mesoderm expression, emphasizing the importance of force dependent Wnt signaling in regulating mechanomorphogenesis. Our work provides a framework for understanding tension-dependent β-catenin/Wnt signaling in the self-organization of tissues during developmental processes including gastrulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadia M.E. Ayad
- Graduate Program in Bioengineering, University of California, San Francisco and University of California Berkeley, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA; Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
- Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Johnathon N. Lakins
- Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Ajinkya Ghagre
- Department of Bioengineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0E9, Canada
| | - Allen J. Ehrlicher
- Department of Bioengineering, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Centre for Structural Biology, Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 1A3, Canada
| | - Valerie M. Weaver
- Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
- Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA; Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA; UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center, Helen Diller Family Cancer Research Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA; Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
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Seitz J, Bilsland A, Puget C, Baasner I, Klopfleisch R, Stein T. SFRP1 Expression is Inversely Associated With Metastasis Formation in Canine Mammary Tumours. J Mammary Gland Biol Neoplasia 2023; 28:15. [PMID: 37402051 DOI: 10.1007/s10911-023-09543-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Canine mammary tumours (CMTs) are the most frequent tumours in intact female dogs and show strong similarities with human breast cancer. In contrast to the human disease there are no standardised diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers available to guide treatment. We recently identified a prognostic 18-gene RNA signature that could stratify human breast cancer patients into groups with significantly different risk of distant metastasis formation. Here, we assessed whether expression patterns of these RNAs were also associated with canine tumour progression. METHOD A sequential forward feature selection process was performed on a previously published microarray dataset of 27 CMTs with and without lymph node (LN) metastases to identify RNAs with significantly differential expression to identify prognostic genes within the 18-gene signature. Using an independent set of 33 newly identified archival CMTs, we compared expression of the identified prognostic subset on RNA and protein basis using RT-qPCR and immunohistochemistry on FFPE-tissue sections. RESULTS While the 18-gene signature as a whole did not have any prognostic power, a subset of three RNAs: Col13a1, Spock2, and Sfrp1, together completely separated CMTs with and without LN metastasis in the microarray set. However, in the new independent set assessed by RT-qPCR, only the Wnt-antagonist Sfrp1 showed significantly increased mRNA abundance in CMTs without LN metastases on its own (p = 0.013) in logistic regression analysis. This correlated with stronger SFRP1 protein staining intensity of the myoepithelium and/or stroma (p < 0.001). SFRP1 staining, as well as β-catenin membrane staining, was significantly associated with negative LN status (p = 0.010 and 0.014 respectively). However, SFRP1 did not correlate with β-catenin membrane staining (p = 0.14). CONCLUSION The study identified SFRP1 as a potential biomarker for metastasis formation in CMTs, but lack of SFRP1 was not associated with reduced membrane-localisation of β-catenin in CMTs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Seitz
- Institute of Veterinary Biochemistry, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Alan Bilsland
- Wolfson Wohl Cancer Research Centre, Institute of Cancer Sciences, College of MVLS, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Chloé Puget
- Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ian Baasner
- Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Robert Klopfleisch
- Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Torsten Stein
- Institute of Veterinary Biochemistry, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
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Liu DX, Li ZF, Zhao YS, Wang LM, Qi HY, Zhao Z, Tan FQ, Yang WX. Es-β-CATENIN affects the hemolymph-testes barrier in Eriocheir sinensis by disrupting cell junctions and cytoskeleton. Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 242:124867. [PMID: 37201886 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.124867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2023] [Revised: 05/06/2023] [Accepted: 05/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
β-CATENIN is an evolutionarily conserved multifunctional molecule that maintains cell adhesion as a cell junction protein to safeguard the integrity of the mammalian blood-testes barrier, and also regulates cell proliferation and apoptosis as a key signaling molecule in the WNT/β-CATENIN signaling pathway. In the crustacean Eriocheir sinensis, Es-β-CATENIN has been shown to be involved in spermatogenesis, but the testes of E. sinensis have large and well-defined structural differences from those of mammals, and the impact of Es-β-CATENIN in them is still unknown. In the present study, we found that Es-β-CATENIN, Es-α-CATENIN and Es-ZO-1 interact differently in the testes of the crab compared to mammals. In addition, defective Es-β-CATENIN resulted in increased Es-α-CATENIN protein expression levels, distorted and deformed F-ACTIN, and disturbed localization of Es-α-CATENIN and Es-ZO-1, leading to loss of hemolymph-testes barrier integrity and impaired sperm release. In addition to this, we also performed the first molecular cloning and bioinformatics analysis of Es-AXIN in the WNT/β-CATENIN pathway to exclude the effect of the WNT/β-CATENIN pathway on the cytoskeleton. In conclusion, Es-β-CATENIN participates in maintaining the hemolymph-testes barrier in the spermatogenesis of E. sinensis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ding-Xi Liu
- The Sperm Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Zhen-Fang Li
- The Sperm Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Yan-Shuang Zhao
- The Sperm Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Lan-Min Wang
- The Sperm Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Hong-Yu Qi
- The Sperm Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Zhan Zhao
- The Sperm Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Fu-Qing Tan
- The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, China
| | - Wan-Xi Yang
- The Sperm Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
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Lai F, Wang H, Zhao X, Yang K, Cai L, Hu M, Lin L, Xia X, Li W, Cheng H, Zhou R. RNF20 is required for male fertility through regulation of H2B ubiquitination in the Sertoli cells. Cell Biosci 2023; 13:71. [PMID: 37024990 PMCID: PMC10080854 DOI: 10.1186/s13578-023-01018-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Spermatogenesis depends on the supporting of the Sertoli cells and their communications with germ cells. However, the regulation of crosstalk between the Sertoli cells and germ cells remains unclear. RESULTS In this report, we used conditional knockout technology to generate the Sertoli cells-specific knockout of Rnf20 in mice. The Amh-Rnf20-/- male mice were infertile owing to spermatogenic failure that mimic the Sertoli cell-only syndrome (SCOS) in humans. Knockout of Rnf20 resulted in the H2BK120ub loss in the Sertoli cells and impaired the transcription elongation of the Cldn11, a gene encoding a component of tight junction. Notably, RNF20 deficiency disrupted the cell adhesion, caused disorganization of the seminiferous tubules, and led to the apoptotic cell death of both spermatogonia and spermatocytes in the seminiferous tubules. CONCLUSIONS This study describes a Rnf20 knockout mouse model that recapitulates the Sertoli cell-only syndrome in humans and demonstrates that RNF20 is required for male fertility through regulation of H2B ubiquitination in the Sertoli cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fengling Lai
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Haoyu Wang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Xinyue Zhao
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Kangning Yang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Le Cai
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Mengxin Hu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Lan Lin
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Xizhong Xia
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Wei Li
- Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou, 510623, China
| | - Hanhua Cheng
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China.
| | - Rongjia Zhou
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China.
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Pećina-Šlaus N, Aničić S, Bukovac A, Kafka A. Wnt Signaling Inhibitors and Their Promising Role in Tumor Treatment. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24076733. [PMID: 37047705 PMCID: PMC10095594 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24076733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/07/2023] Open
Abstract
In a continuous search for the improvement of antitumor therapies, the inhibition of the Wnt signaling pathway has been recognized as a promising target. The altered functioning of the Wnt signaling in human tumors points to the strategy of the inhibition of its activity that would impact the clinical outcomes and survival of patients. Because the Wnt pathway is often mutated or epigenetically altered in tumors, which promotes its activation, inhibitors of Wnt signaling are being intensively investigated. It has been shown that knocking down specific components of the Wnt pathway has inhibitory effects on tumor growth in vivo and in vitro. Thus, similar effects are expected from the application of Wnt inhibitors. In the last decades, molecules acting as inhibitors on the pathway’s specific molecular levels have been identified and characterized. This review will discuss the inhibitors of the canonical Wnt pathway, summarize knowledge on their effectiveness as therapeutics, and debate their side effects. The role of the components frequently mutated in various tumors that are principal targets for Wnt inhibitors is also going to be brought to the reader’s attention. Some of the molecules identified as Wnt pathway inhibitors have reached early stages of clinical trials, and some have only just been discovered. All things considered, inhibition of the Wnt signaling pathway shows potential for the development of future therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nives Pećina-Šlaus
- Laboratory of Neuro-Oncology, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Šalata 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
- Department of Biology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Šalata 3, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Sara Aničić
- Department of Physiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Šalata 3, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
- Laboratory for Molecular Immunology, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Anja Bukovac
- Laboratory of Neuro-Oncology, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Šalata 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
- Department of Biology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Šalata 3, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Anja Kafka
- Laboratory of Neuro-Oncology, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Šalata 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
- Department of Biology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Šalata 3, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
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Balamurugan K, Poria DK, Sehareen SW, Krishnamurthy S, Tang W, McKennett L, Padmanaban V, Czarra K, Ewald AJ, Ueno NT, Ambs S, Sharan S, Sterneck E. Stabilization of E-cadherin adhesions by COX-2/GSK3β signaling is a targetable pathway in metastatic breast cancer. JCI Insight 2023; 8:156057. [PMID: 36757813 PMCID: PMC10070121 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.156057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Metastatic progression of epithelial cancers can be associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) including transcriptional inhibition of E-cadherin (CDH1) expression. Recently, EM plasticity (EMP) and E-cadherin-mediated, cluster-based metastasis and treatment resistance have become more appreciated. However, the mechanisms that maintain E-cadherin expression in this context are less understood. Through studies of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) and a 3D tumor cell "emboli" culture paradigm, we discovered that cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2; PTGS2), a target gene of C/EBPδ (CEBPD), or its metabolite prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) promotes protein stability of E-cadherin, β-catenin, and p120 catenin through inhibition of GSK3β. The COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib downregulated E-cadherin complex proteins and caused cell death. Coexpression of E-cadherin and COX-2 was seen in breast cancer tissues from patients with poor outcome and, along with inhibitory GSK3β phosphorylation, in patient-derived xenografts (PDX) including triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).Celecoxib alone decreased E-cadherin protein expression within xenograft tumors, though CDH1 mRNA levels increased, and reduced circulating tumor cell (CTC) clusters. In combination with paclitaxel, celecoxib attenuated or regressed lung metastases. This study has uncovered a mechanism by which metastatic breast cancer cells can maintain E-cadherin-mediated cell-to-cell adhesions and cell survival, suggesting that some patients with COX-2+/E-cadherin+ breast cancer may benefit from targeting of the PGE2 signaling pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kuppusamy Balamurugan
- Laboratory of Cell and Developmental Signaling, Center for Cancer Research (CCR), National Cancer Institute (NCI), Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Dipak K Poria
- Laboratory of Cell and Developmental Signaling, Center for Cancer Research (CCR), National Cancer Institute (NCI), Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Saadiya W Sehareen
- Laboratory of Cell and Developmental Signaling, Center for Cancer Research (CCR), National Cancer Institute (NCI), Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Savitri Krishnamurthy
- Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program and Clinic, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Wei Tang
- Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, CCR, NCI, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Lois McKennett
- Laboratory Animal Sciences Program, Leidos Biomedical Research Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Veena Padmanaban
- Departments of Cell Biology and Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Kelli Czarra
- Laboratory Animal Sciences Program, Leidos Biomedical Research Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Andrew J Ewald
- Departments of Cell Biology and Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Naoto T Ueno
- Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program and Clinic, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Stefan Ambs
- Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, CCR, NCI, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Shikha Sharan
- Laboratory of Cell and Developmental Signaling, Center for Cancer Research (CCR), National Cancer Institute (NCI), Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Esta Sterneck
- Laboratory of Cell and Developmental Signaling, Center for Cancer Research (CCR), National Cancer Institute (NCI), Frederick, Maryland, USA
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Zhuang W, Ye T, Wang W, Song W, Tan T. CTNNB1 in neurodevelopmental disorders. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1143328. [PMID: 37009120 PMCID: PMC10061110 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1143328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
CTNNB1 is the gene that encodes β-catenin which acts as a key player in the Wnt signaling pathway and regulates cellular homeostasis. Most CTNNB1-related studies have been mainly focused on its role in cancer. Recently, CTNNB1 has also been found involved in neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), such as intellectual disability, autism, and schizophrenia. Mutations of CTNNB1 lead to the dysfunction of the Wnt signaling pathway that regulates gene transcription and further disturbs synaptic plasticity, neuronal apoptosis, and neurogenesis. In this review, we discuss a wide range of aspects of CTNNB1 and its physiological and pathological functions in the brain. We also provide an overview of the most recent research regarding CTNNB1 expression and its function in NDDs. We propose that CTNNB1 would be one of the top high-risk genes for NDDs. It could also be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of NDDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenting Zhuang
- Oujiang Laboratory (Zhejiang Lab for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health), Key Laboratory of Alzheimer's Disease of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Aging, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Tong Ye
- Oujiang Laboratory (Zhejiang Lab for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health), Key Laboratory of Alzheimer's Disease of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Aging, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Oujiang Laboratory (Zhejiang Lab for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health), Key Laboratory of Alzheimer's Disease of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Aging, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Weihong Song
- Oujiang Laboratory (Zhejiang Lab for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health), Key Laboratory of Alzheimer's Disease of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Aging, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Weihong Song,
| | - Tao Tan
- Oujiang Laboratory (Zhejiang Lab for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health), Key Laboratory of Alzheimer's Disease of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Aging, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
- Tao Tan,
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Balatskyi VV, Sowka A, Dobrzyn P, Piven OO. WNT/β-catenin pathway is a key regulator of cardiac function and energetic metabolism. Acta Physiol (Oxf) 2023; 237:e13912. [PMID: 36599355 DOI: 10.1111/apha.13912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2022] [Revised: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 01/02/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
The WNT/β-catenin pathway is a master regulator of cardiac development and growth, and its activity is low in healthy adult hearts. However, even this low activity is essential for maintaining normal heart function. Acute activation of the WNT/β-catenin signaling cascade is considered to be cardioprotective after infarction through the upregulation of prosurvival genes and reprogramming of metabolism. Chronically high WNT/β-catenin pathway activity causes profibrotic and hypertrophic effects in the adult heart. New data suggest more complex functions of β-catenin in metabolic maturation of the perinatal heart, establishing an adult pattern of glucose and fatty acid utilization. Additionally, low basal activity of the WNT/β-catenin cascade maintains oxidative metabolism in the adult heart, and this pathway is reactivated by physiological or pathological stimuli to meet the higher energy needs of the heart. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge of the organization of canonical WNT signaling and its function in cardiogenesis, heart maturation, adult heart function, and remodeling. We also discuss the role of the WNT/β-catenin pathway in cardiac glucose, lipid metabolism, and mitochondrial physiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Volodymyr V Balatskyi
- Laboratory of Molecular Medical Biochemistry, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Adrian Sowka
- Laboratory of Molecular Medical Biochemistry, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Pawel Dobrzyn
- Laboratory of Molecular Medical Biochemistry, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Oksana O Piven
- Laboratory of Molecular Medical Biochemistry, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
- Department of Human Genetics, Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
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Liu DX, Hao SL, Yang WX. Crosstalk Between β-CATENIN-Mediated Cell Adhesion and the WNT Signaling Pathway. DNA Cell Biol 2023; 42:1-13. [PMID: 36399409 DOI: 10.1089/dna.2022.0424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Cell adhesion and stable signaling regulation are fundamental ways of maintaining homeostasis. Among them, the Wnt/β-CATENIN signaling plays a key role in embryonic development and maintenance of body dynamic homeostasis. At the same time, the key signaling molecule β-CATENIN in the Wnt signaling can also function as a cytoskeletal linker protein to regulate tissue barriers, cell migration, and morphogenesis. Dysregulation of the balance between Wnt signaling and adherens junctions can lead to disease. How β-CATENIN maintains the independence of these two functions, or mediates the interaction and balance of these two functions, has been explored and debated for a long time. In this study, we will focus on five aspects of β-CATENIN chaperone molecules, phosphorylation of β-CATENIN and related proteins, epithelial mesenchymal transition, β-CATENIN homolog protein γ-CATENIN and disease, thus deepening the understanding of the Wnt/β-CATENIN signaling and the homeostasis between cell adhesion and further addressing related disease problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ding-Xi Liu
- The Sperm Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Shuang-Li Hao
- The Sperm Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wan-Xi Yang
- The Sperm Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Ni B, Sun M, Zhao J, Wang J, Cao Z. The role of β-catenin in cardiac diseases. Front Pharmacol 2023; 14:1157043. [PMID: 37033656 PMCID: PMC10073558 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1157043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is a classical Wnt pathway that regulates the stability and nuclear localization of β-catenin and plays an important role in adult heart development and cardiac tissue homeostasis. In recent years, an increasing number of researchers have implicated the dysregulation of this signaling pathway in a variety of cardiac diseases, such as myocardial infarction, arrhythmias, arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, diabetic cardiomyopathies, and myocardial hypertrophy. The morbidity and mortality of cardiac diseases are increasing, which brings great challenges to clinical treatment and seriously affects patient health. Thus, understanding the biological roles of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in these diseases may be essential for cardiac disease treatment and diagnosis to improve patient quality of life. In this review, we summarize current research on the roles of β-catenin in human cardiac diseases and potential inhibitors of Wnt/β-catenin, which may provide new strategies for cardiac disease therapies.
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Abstract
WNT/CTNNB1 signaling plays a critical role in the development of all multicellular animals. Here, we include both the embryonic stages, during which tissue morphogenesis takes place, and the postnatal stages of development, during which tissue homeostasis occurs. Thus, embryonic development concerns lineage development and cell fate specification, while postnatal development involves tissue maintenance and regeneration. Multiple tools are available to researchers who want to investigate, and ideally visualize, the dynamic and pleiotropic involvement of WNT/CTNNB1 signaling in these processes. Here, we discuss and evaluate the decisions that researchers need to make in identifying the experimental system and appropriate tools for the specific question they want to address, covering different types of WNT/CTNNB1 reporters in cells and mice. At a molecular level, advanced quantitative imaging techniques can provide spatio-temporal information that cannot be provided by traditional biochemical assays. We therefore also highlight some recent studies to show their potential in deciphering the complex and dynamic mechanisms that drive WNT/CTNNB1 signaling.
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Tang J, Suo L, Li F, Yang C, Bian K, Wang Y. ITRAQ-based quantitative proteomics analysis of forest musk deer with pneumonia. Front Vet Sci 2022; 9:1012276. [DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2022.1012276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Pneumonia can seriously threaten the life of forest musk deer (FMD, an endangered species). To gain a comprehensive understanding of pneumonia pathogenesis in FMD, iTRAQ-based proteomics analysis was performed in diseased (Pne group) lung tissues of FMD that died of pneumonia and normal lung tissues (Ctrl group) of FMD that died from fighting against each other. Results showed that 355 proteins were differentially expressed (fold change ≥ 1.2 and adjusted P-value < 0.05) in Pne vs. Ctrl. GO/KEGG annotation and enrichment analyses showed that dysregulated proteins might play vital roles in bacterial infection and immunity. Given the close association between bacterial infection and pneumonia, 32 dysregulated proteins related to Staphylococcus aureus infection, bacterial invasion of epithelial cells, and pathogenic Escherichia coli infection were screened out. Among these 32 proteins, 13 proteins were mapped to the bovine genome. Given the close phylogenetic relationships of FMD and bovine, the protein-protein interaction networks of the above-mentioned 13 proteins were constructed by the String database. Based on the node degree analysis, 5 potential key proteins related to pneumonia-related bacterial infection in FMD were filtered out. Moreover, 85 dysregulated proteins related to the immune system process were identified given the tight connection between immune dysregulation and pneumonia pathogenesis. Additionally, 12 proteins that might function as crucial players in pneumonia-related immune response in FMD were screened out using the same experimental strategies described above. In conclusion, some vital proteins, biological processes, and pathways in pneumonia development were identified in FMD.
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Rowling PJE, Murton BL, Du Z, Itzhaki LS. Multivalent Interaction of Beta-Catenin With its Intrinsically Disordered Binding Partner Adenomatous Polyposis Coli. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 9:896493. [PMID: 35755812 PMCID: PMC9214244 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.896493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The Wnt signalling pathway plays key roles in cell proliferation, differentiation and fate decisions in embryonic development and maintenance of adult tissues, and the twelve Armadillo (ARM) repeat-containing protein β-catenin acts as the signal transducer in this pathway. Here we investigate the interaction between β-catenin's ARM repeat domain and the intrinsically disordered protein adenomatous polyposis coli (APC). APC is a giant multivalent scaffold that brings together the different components of the so-called "β-catenin destruction complex", which drives β-catenin degradation via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Mutations and truncations in APC, resulting in loss of APC function and hence elevated β-catenin levels and upregulation of Wnt signalling, are associated with numerous cancers including colorectal carcinomas. APC has a long intrinsically disordered region (IDR) that contains a series of 15-residue and 20-residue binding regions for β-catenin. Here we explore the multivalent nature of the interaction of β-catenin with the highest affinity APC repeat, both at equilibrium and under kinetic conditions. We use a combination of single-site substitutions, deletions and insertions to dissect the mechanism of molecular recognition and the roles of the three β-catenin-binding subdomains of APC.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Laura S. Itzhaki
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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40
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Fang X, Svitkina TM. Adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) in cell migration. Eur J Cell Biol 2022; 101:151228. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejcb.2022.151228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
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Bernegger S, Hutterer E, Zarzecka U, Schmidt TP, Huemer M, Widlroither I, Posselt G, Skorko-Glonek J, Wessler S. E-Cadherin Orthologues as Substrates for the Serine Protease High Temperature Requirement A (HtrA). Biomolecules 2022; 12:356. [PMID: 35327548 PMCID: PMC8945801 DOI: 10.3390/biom12030356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2022] [Revised: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) expresses the serine protease and chaperone High temperature requirement A (HtrA) that is involved in periplasmic unfolded protein stress response. Additionally, H. pylori-secreted HtrA directly cleaves the human cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin leading to a local disruption of intercellular adhesions during pathogenesis. HtrA-mediated E-cadherin cleavage has been observed in response to a broad range of pathogens, implying that it is a prevalent mechanism in humans. However, less is known whether E-cadherin orthologues serve as substrates for bacterial HtrA. Here, we compared HtrA-mediated cleavage of human E-cadherin with murine, canine, and simian E-cadherin in vitro and during bacterial infection. We found that HtrA targeted mouse and dog E-cadherin equally well, whereas macaque E-cadherin was less fragmented in vitro. We stably re-expressed orthologous E-cadherin (Cdh1) in a CRISPR/Cas9-mediated cdh1 knockout cell line to investigate E-cadherin shedding upon infection using H. pylori wildtype, an isogenic htrA deletion mutant, or complemented mutants as bacterial paradigms. In Western blot analyses and super-resolution microscopy, we demonstrated that H. pylori efficiently cleaved E-cadherin orthologues in an HtrA-dependent manner. These data extend previous knowledge to HtrA-mediated E-cadherin release in mammals, which may shed new light on bacterial infections in non-human organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Bernegger
- Department of Biosciences and Medical Biology, Division of Microbial Infection and Cancer, Paris-Lodron University of Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; (S.B.); (E.H.); (T.P.S.); (M.H.); (I.W.); (G.P.)
| | - Evelyn Hutterer
- Department of Biosciences and Medical Biology, Division of Microbial Infection and Cancer, Paris-Lodron University of Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; (S.B.); (E.H.); (T.P.S.); (M.H.); (I.W.); (G.P.)
| | - Urszula Zarzecka
- Department of General and Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland; (U.Z.); (J.S.-G.)
| | - Thomas P. Schmidt
- Department of Biosciences and Medical Biology, Division of Microbial Infection and Cancer, Paris-Lodron University of Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; (S.B.); (E.H.); (T.P.S.); (M.H.); (I.W.); (G.P.)
| | - Markus Huemer
- Department of Biosciences and Medical Biology, Division of Microbial Infection and Cancer, Paris-Lodron University of Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; (S.B.); (E.H.); (T.P.S.); (M.H.); (I.W.); (G.P.)
| | - Isabella Widlroither
- Department of Biosciences and Medical Biology, Division of Microbial Infection and Cancer, Paris-Lodron University of Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; (S.B.); (E.H.); (T.P.S.); (M.H.); (I.W.); (G.P.)
| | - Gernot Posselt
- Department of Biosciences and Medical Biology, Division of Microbial Infection and Cancer, Paris-Lodron University of Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; (S.B.); (E.H.); (T.P.S.); (M.H.); (I.W.); (G.P.)
| | - Joanna Skorko-Glonek
- Department of General and Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland; (U.Z.); (J.S.-G.)
| | - Silja Wessler
- Department of Biosciences and Medical Biology, Division of Microbial Infection and Cancer, Paris-Lodron University of Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; (S.B.); (E.H.); (T.P.S.); (M.H.); (I.W.); (G.P.)
- Cancer Cluster Salzburg and Allergy Cancer BioNano Research Centre, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Strasse 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
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de Clauser L, Kappert C, Sondermann JR, Gomez-Varela D, Flatters SJL, Schmidt M. Proteome and Network Analysis Provides Novel Insights Into Developing and Established Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:818690. [PMID: 35250568 PMCID: PMC8895144 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.818690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a debilitating side-effect of cancer therapies. So far, the development of CIPN cannot be prevented, neither can established CIPN be reverted, often leading to the cessation of necessary chemotherapy. Thus, there is an urgent need to explore the mechanistic basis of CIPN to facilitate its treatment. Here we used an integrated approach of quantitative proteome profiling and network analysis in a clinically relevant rat model of paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy. We analysed lumbar rat DRG at two critical time points: (1) day 7, right after cessation of paclitaxel treatment, but prior to neuropathy development (pre-CIPN); (2) 4 weeks after paclitaxel initiation, when neuropathy has developed (peak-CIPN). In this way we identified a differential protein signature, which shows how changes in the proteome correlate with the development and maintenance of CIPN, respectively. Extensive biological pathway and network analysis reveals that, at pre-CIPN, regulated proteins are prominently implicated in mitochondrial (dys)function, immune signalling, neuronal damage/regeneration, and neuronal transcription. Orthogonal validation in an independent rat cohort confirmed the increase of β-catenin (CTNNB1) at pre-CIPN. More importantly, detailed analysis of protein networks associated with β-catenin highlights translationally relevant and potentially druggable targets. Overall, this study demonstrates the enormous value of combining animal behaviour with proteome and network analysis to provide unprecedented insights into the molecular basis of CIPN. In line with emerging approaches of network medicine our results highlight new avenues for developing improved therapeutic options aimed at preventing and treating CIPN.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larissa de Clauser
- Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- Institute for Biomedicine, Eurac Research, Affiliated Institute of the University of Lübeck, Bolzano, Italy
- *Correspondence: Larissa de Clauser, ; Manuela Schmidt,
| | - Christin Kappert
- Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Julia R. Sondermann
- Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - David Gomez-Varela
- Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sarah J. L. Flatters
- Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Manuela Schmidt
- Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- *Correspondence: Larissa de Clauser, ; Manuela Schmidt,
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Liu X, Zhan T, Gao Y, Cui S, Liu W, Zhang C, Zhuang S. Benzophenone-1 induced aberrant proliferation and metastasis of ovarian cancer cells via activated ERα and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2022; 292:118370. [PMID: 34656677 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2021] [Revised: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Benzophenone-1 (BP-1) belongs to personal care product-related contaminants of emerging concern and has been recently reported to induce xenoestrogenic effects. However, the underlying mechanisms leading to the activation of target receptors and subsequent various adverse outcomes remain unclear, which is beneficial to safety and health risk assessment of benzophenone-type ultraviolet filters with their widespread occurrence. Herein, we investigated disrupting effects of BP-1 at environmentally relevant concentrations (10-9-10-6 M) on estrogen receptor (ER) α-associated signaling pathways. Molecular dynamics simulations together with yeast-based assays revealed the steady binding of BP-1 to ERα ligand binding domain (LBD) and hence the observed agonistic activity. BP-1 triggered interaction between ERα and β-catenin in human SKOV3 ovarian cancer cells and caused translocation of β-catenin from the cytoplasm to the nucleus, leading to aberrant activation of Wnt/β-catenin. BP-1 consequently induced dissemination of SKOV3 via regulating epithelial-mesenchymal transitions (EMT) biomarkers including minimally downregulating ZO-1 gene to 78.0 ± 10.1% and maximally upregulating MMP9 gene to 144.1 ± 29.7% and promoted 1.03-1.83 fold proliferation, migration and invasion of SKOV3. We provide the first evidence that the BP-1 activated ERα triggers crosstalk between ERα and Wnt/β-catenin pathway, leading to the abnormal stimulation and progression of SKOV3 cancer cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xujun Liu
- Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Tingjie Zhan
- Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Yuchen Gao
- Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Shixuan Cui
- Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Weiping Liu
- Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Chunlong Zhang
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Houston-Clear Lake, 2700 Bay Area Boulevard, Houston, TX, 77058, United States
| | - Shulin Zhuang
- Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
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Lv J, Pan Z, Chen J, Xu R, Wang D, Huang J, Dong Y, Jiang J, Yin X, Cheng H, Guo X. Phosphoproteomic Analysis Reveals Downstream PKA Effectors of AKAP Cypher/ZASP in the Pathogenesis of Dilated Cardiomyopathy. Front Cardiovasc Med 2021; 8:753072. [PMID: 34966794 PMCID: PMC8710605 DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2021.753072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a major cause of heart failure worldwide. The Z-line protein Cypher/Z-band alternatively spliced PDZ-motif protein (ZASP) is closely associated with DCM, both clinically and in animal models. Our earlier work revealed Cypher/ZASP as a PKA-anchoring protein (AKAP) that tethers PKA to phosphorylate target substrates. However, the downstream PKA effectors regulated by AKAP Cypher/ZASP and their relevance to DCM remain largely unknown.Methods and Results: For the identification of candidate PKA substrates, global quantitative phosphoproteomics was performed on cardiac tissue from wild-type and Cypher-knockout mice with PKA activation. A total of 216 phosphopeptides were differentially expressed in the Cypher-knockout mice; 31 phosphorylation sites were selected as candidates using the PKA consensus motifs. Bioinformatic analysis indicated that differentially expressed proteins were enriched mostly in cell adhesion and mRNA processing. Furthermore, the phosphorylation of β-catenin Ser675 was verified to be facilitated by Cypher. This phosphorylation promoted the transcriptional activity of β-catenin, and also the proliferative capacity of cardiomyocytes. Immunofluorescence staining demonstrated that Cypher colocalised with β-catenin in the intercalated discs (ICD) and altered the cytoplasmic distribution of β-catenin. Moreover, the phosphorylation of two other PKA substrates, vimentin Ser72 and troponin I Ser23/24, was suppressed by Cypher deletion.Conclusions: Cypher/ZASP plays an essential role in β-catenin activation via Ser675 phosphorylation, which modulates cardiomyocyte proliferation. Additionally, Cypher/ZASP regulates other PKA effectors, such as vimentin Ser72 and troponin I Ser23/24. These findings establish the AKAP Cypher/ZASP as a signalling hub in the progression of DCM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jialan Lv
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zhicheng Pan
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jian Chen
- Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Rui Xu
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Dongfei Wang
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jiaqi Huang
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China
| | - Yang Dong
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jing Jiang
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiang Yin
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hongqiang Cheng
- Department of Pathology and Pathophysiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Hongqiang Cheng
| | - Xiaogang Guo
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
- Xiaogang Guo
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Signalling dynamics in embryonic development. Biochem J 2021; 478:4045-4070. [PMID: 34871368 PMCID: PMC8718268 DOI: 10.1042/bcj20210043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Revised: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
In multicellular organisms, cellular behaviour is tightly regulated to allow proper embryonic development and maintenance of adult tissue. A critical component in this control is the communication between cells via signalling pathways, as errors in intercellular communication can induce developmental defects or diseases such as cancer. It has become clear over the last years that signalling is not static but varies in activity over time. Feedback mechanisms present in every signalling pathway lead to diverse dynamic phenotypes, such as transient activation, signal ramping or oscillations, occurring in a cell type- and stage-dependent manner. In cells, such dynamics can exert various functions that allow organisms to develop in a robust and reproducible way. Here, we focus on Erk, Wnt and Notch signalling pathways, which are dynamic in several tissue types and organisms, including the periodic segmentation of vertebrate embryos, and are often dysregulated in cancer. We will discuss how biochemical processes influence their dynamics and how these impact on cellular behaviour within multicellular systems.
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Abreu de Oliveira WA, Moens S, El Laithy Y, van der Veer BK, Athanasouli P, Cortesi EE, Baietti MF, Koh KP, Ventura JJ, Amant F, Annibali D, Lluis F. Wnt/β-Catenin Inhibition Disrupts Carboplatin Resistance in Isogenic Models of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. Front Oncol 2021; 11:705384. [PMID: 34367990 PMCID: PMC8340846 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.705384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive breast cancer subtype, characterized by limited treatment options and higher relapse rates than hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers. Chemotherapy remains the mainstay treatment for TNBC, and platinum salts have been explored as a therapeutic alternative in neo-adjuvant and metastatic settings. However, primary and acquired resistance to chemotherapy in general and platinum-based regimens specifically strongly hampers TNBC management. In this study, we used carboplatin-resistant in vivo patient-derived xenograft and isogenic TNBC cell-line models and detected enhanced Wnt/β-catenin activity correlating with an induced expression of stem cell markers in both resistant models. In accordance, the activation of canonical Wnt signaling in parental TNBC cell lines increases stem cell markers' expression, formation of tumorspheres and promotes carboplatin resistance. Finally, we prove that Wnt signaling inhibition resensitizes resistant models to carboplatin both in vitro and in vivo, suggesting the synergistic use of Wnt inhibitors and carboplatin as a therapeutic option in TNBC. Here we provide evidence for a prominent role of Wnt signaling in mediating resistance to carboplatin, and we establish that combinatorial targeting of Wnt signaling overcomes carboplatin resistance enhancing chemotherapeutic drug efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Stijn Moens
- Leuven Cancer Institute (LKI), Department of Oncology, Gynecological Oncology Lab 3000, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Youssef El Laithy
- Stem Cell Institute, Department of Development and Regeneration, Katholieke Universiteit (KU) Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bernard K van der Veer
- Stem Cell Institute, Department of Development and Regeneration, Laboratory for Stem Cell and Developmental Epigenetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Paraskevi Athanasouli
- Stem Cell Institute, Department of Development and Regeneration, Katholieke Universiteit (KU) Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Emanuela Elsa Cortesi
- Translational Cell and Tissue Research - Department of Imaging & Pathology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Kian Peng Koh
- Stem Cell Institute, Department of Development and Regeneration, Laboratory for Stem Cell and Developmental Epigenetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Juan-Jose Ventura
- Translational Cell and Tissue Research - Department of Imaging & Pathology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Frédéric Amant
- Leuven Cancer Institute (LKI), Department of Oncology, Gynecological Oncology Lab 3000, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Centre for Gynecologic Oncology Amsterdam (CGOA), Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek-Netherlands Cancer Institute (AvL-NKI), University Medical Center (UMC), Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Daniela Annibali
- Leuven Cancer Institute (LKI), Department of Oncology, Gynecological Oncology Lab 3000, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Division of Oncogenomics, Oncode Institute, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Frederic Lluis
- Stem Cell Institute, Department of Development and Regeneration, Katholieke Universiteit (KU) Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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de Man SMA, Zwanenburg G, van der Wal T, Hink MA, van Amerongen R. Quantitative live-cell imaging and computational modeling shed new light on endogenous WNT/CTNNB1 signaling dynamics. eLife 2021; 10:e66440. [PMID: 34190040 PMCID: PMC8341982 DOI: 10.7554/elife.66440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
WNT/CTNNB1 signaling regulates tissue development and homeostasis in all multicellular animals, but the underlying molecular mechanism remains incompletely understood. Specifically, quantitative insight into endogenous protein behavior is missing. Here, we combine CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing and quantitative live-cell microscopy to measure the dynamics, diffusion characteristics and absolute concentrations of fluorescently tagged, endogenous CTNNB1 in human cells under both physiological and oncogenic conditions. State-of-the-art imaging reveals that a substantial fraction of CTNNB1 resides in slow-diffusing cytoplasmic complexes, irrespective of the activation status of the pathway. This cytoplasmic CTNNB1 complex undergoes a major reduction in size when WNT/CTNNB1 is (hyper)activated. Based on our biophysical measurements, we build a computational model of WNT/CTNNB1 signaling. Our integrated experimental and computational approach reveals that WNT pathway activation regulates the dynamic distribution of free and complexed CTNNB1 across different subcellular compartments through three regulatory nodes: the destruction complex, nucleocytoplasmic shuttling, and nuclear retention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saskia MA de Man
- Developmental, Stem Cell and Cancer Biology, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of AmsterdamAmsterdamNetherlands
| | - Gooitzen Zwanenburg
- Biosystems Data Analysis, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of AmsterdamAmsterdamNetherlands
| | - Tanne van der Wal
- Developmental, Stem Cell and Cancer Biology, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of AmsterdamAmsterdamNetherlands
| | - Mark A Hink
- Molecular Cytology, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of AmsterdamAmsterdamNetherlands
- van Leeuwenhoek Centre for Advanced Microscopy, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of AmsterdamAmsterdamNetherlands
| | - Renée van Amerongen
- Developmental, Stem Cell and Cancer Biology, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of AmsterdamAmsterdamNetherlands
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Na HH, Ryu JM, Kim KC. Knockout of FosB gene changes drug sensitivity and invasion activity via the regulation of Bcl-2, E-cadherin, β-catenin, and vimentin expression. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2021; 567:131-137. [PMID: 34153682 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2021.06.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Our previous research suggested the presence of a novel SETDB1-mediated FosB pathway that could be responsible for the regulation of cell proliferation and invasiveness during anticancer treatments. In this study, we prepared FosB knock-out (FosB-KO) A549 human lung cancer cells using the CRISPR/Cas9 system and examined the physiological and molecular changes that caused. Annexin V and TUNEL assays showed that FosB-KO clones were less sensitive to doxorubicin treatment compared to the control A549 cells. Bcl2 expression and mitochondrial membrane potential were also both markedly increased in FosB-KO clones, which suggests the involvement of Bcl2 in the doxorubicin mediated increase in cell viability demonstrated the FosB-KO clones. Moreover, we identified changes in the migration and transforming activities of the FosB-KO clones that coincided with changes in the expression levels of E-cadherin, β-catenin, and Vimentin. RT-PCR and qPCR analysis showed that the expressions of Bcl2, E-cadherin, β-catenin, and Vimentin were regulated at the transcriptional level. Importantly, FosB overexpression in FosB-KO clones restored the expression of Bcl2, Akt, E-cad, β-catenin, and Vimentin, suggesting that those proteins were tightly regulated by FosB. These data suggest that the FosB gene critically regulates both drug sensitivity and invasion related genes, and does so in a manner coordinated with the function of SETDB1. Therefore, we propose that the FosB gene regulates both drug sensitivity and invasion activity related genes, and also shows coordinated function with SETDB1 for the regulation of target proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han-Heom Na
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 24341, Republic of Korea
| | - Jae-Min Ryu
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 24341, Republic of Korea
| | - Keun-Cheol Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 24341, Republic of Korea.
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Smith BM, Rowling PJE, Dobson CM, Itzhaki LS. Parallel and Sequential Pathways of Molecular Recognition of a Tandem-Repeat Protein and Its Intrinsically Disordered Binding Partner. Biomolecules 2021; 11:827. [PMID: 34206070 PMCID: PMC8228192 DOI: 10.3390/biom11060827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2021] [Revised: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The Wnt signalling pathway plays an important role in cell proliferation, differentiation, and fate decisions in embryonic development and the maintenance of adult tissues. The twelve armadillo (ARM) repeat-containing protein β-catenin acts as the signal transducer in this pathway. Here, we investigated the interaction between β-catenin and the intrinsically disordered transcription factor TCF7L2, comprising a very long nanomolar-affinity interface of approximately 4800 Å2 that spans ten of the twelve ARM repeats of β-catenin. First, a fluorescence reporter system for the interaction was engineered and used to determine the kinetic rate constants for the association and dissociation. The association kinetics of TCF7L2 and β-catenin were monophasic and rapid (7.3 ± 0.1 × 107 M-1·s-1), whereas dissociation was biphasic and slow (5.7 ± 0.4 × 10-4 s-1, 15.2 ± 2.8 × 10-4 s-1). This reporter system was then combined with site-directed mutagenesis to investigate the striking variability in the conformation adopted by TCF7L2 in the three different crystal structures of the TCF7L2-β-catenin complex. We found that the mutation had very little effect on the association kinetics, indicating that most interactions form after the rate-limiting barrier for association. Mutations of the N- and C-terminal subdomains of TCF7L2 that adopt relatively fixed conformations in the crystal structures had large effects on the dissociation kinetics, whereas the mutation of the labile sub-domain connecting them had negligible effect. These results point to a two-site avidity mechanism of binding with the linker region forming a "fuzzy" complex involving transient contacts that are not site-specific. Strikingly, the two mutations in the N-terminal subdomain that had the largest effects on the dissociation kinetics showed two additional phases, indicating partial flux through an alternative dissociation pathway that is inaccessible to the wild type. The results presented here provide insights into the kinetics of the molecular recognition of a long intrinsically disordered region with an elongated repeat-protein surface, a process found to involve parallel routes with sequential steps in each.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben M. Smith
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1PD, UK;
| | - Pamela J. E. Rowling
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1PD, UK;
| | - Christopher M. Dobson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK;
| | - Laura S. Itzhaki
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1PD, UK;
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β-Catenin Activation in Hepatocellular Cancer: Implications in Biology and Therapy. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13081830. [PMID: 33921282 PMCID: PMC8069637 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13081830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Liver cancer is a dreadful tumor which has gradually increased in incidence all around the world. One major driver of liver cancer is the Wnt–β-catenin pathway which is active in a subset of these tumors. While this pathway is normally important in liver development, regeneration and homeostasis, it’s excessive activation due to mutations, is detrimental and leads to tumor cell growth, making it an important therapeutic target. There are also some unique characteristics of this pathway activation in liver cancer. It makes the tumor addicted to specific amino acids and in turn to mTOR signaling, which can be treated by certain existing therapies. In addition, activation of the Wnt–β-catenin in liver cancer appears to alter the immune cell landscape making it less likely to respond to the new immuno-oncology treatments. Thus, Wnt–β-catenin active tumors may need to be treated differently than non-Wnt–β-catenin active tumors. Abstract Hepatocellular cancer (HCC), the most common primary liver tumor, has been gradually growing in incidence globally. The whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing of HCC has led to an improved understanding of the molecular drivers of this tumor type. Activation of the Wnt signaling pathway, mostly due to stabilizing missense mutations in its downstream effector β-catenin (encoded by CTNNB1) or loss-of-function mutations in AXIN1 (the gene which encodes for Axin-1, an essential protein for β-catenin degradation), are seen in a major subset of HCC. Because of the important role of β-catenin in liver pathobiology, its role in HCC has been extensively investigated. In fact, CTNNB1 mutations have been shown to have a trunk role. β-Catenin has been shown to play an important role in regulating tumor cell proliferation and survival and in tumor angiogenesis, due to a host of target genes regulated by the β-catenin transactivation of its transcriptional factor TCF. Proof-of-concept preclinical studies have shown β-catenin to be a highly relevant therapeutic target in CTNNB1-mutated HCCs. More recently, studies have revealed a unique role of β-catenin activation in regulating both tumor metabolism as well as the tumor immune microenvironment. Both these roles have notable implications for the development of novel therapies for HCC. Thus, β-catenin has a pertinent role in driving HCC development and maintenance of this tumor-type, and could be a highly relevant therapeutic target in a subset of HCC cases.
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